Journey's End
by Enigma Jade
Summary: An old enemy returns to exact revenge on Luke. Who is it, and will the others be able to save him before it's too late? HEAVY R for sexual situations and violence.


--Journey's End--   
  
By Enigma Jade (Maab63@AOL.com)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or anything related. I am making no money off of this, it's only for fun.   
  
Spoilers: None, I think. Well, you should probably know Children of the Jedi. It'll make a lot more sense after that, and Shadows of the Empire. Other than that, this is very AU.   
  
This is dedicated to my beta-readers: Patricia, Andrea (AKA Merlyn AKA Tribo), Skyjade (AKA Mimi), and Sam. Thanks for all your help!! Also, for all of my fellow SW fanatics! Without you this wouldn't work!  
  
PS!! For all you Mara lovers (and Callista haters!) don't dispair! There's more to come!! ::HINT HINT!::  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
The stars shown brightly on Yavin 4 that night. Luke Skywalker sat atop the Great Temple of the Jedi Academy, meditating. The recent attacks by the Second Imperium troubled him greatly. Why now had they chosen to strike?  
His icy blue eyes snapped open as he felt Tenel Ka approach. Tenel Ka was a great warrior. A princess and heir to the vast Hapes cluster, she did not act like a princess. She took after her mother, named Teneniel Djo, a woman from Dathomir.  
She hauled herself over the edge with her one good arm. Her other arm was cut off in an unfortunate lightsaber sparring excersize with Jacen. Luke surpressed a shudder at the thought. He turned to face her. "Hello, Tenel Ka. What brings you up here at this time of night?" he asked.  
"I am worried about Jacen, Master Skywalker. He seems to be avoiding me lately. Do you know if I have offended him in some way?"  
Luke smiled. Tenel Ka had worried about Jacen ever since he had nearly been killed by the New Empire. Luke had known why Jacen was avoiding her lately. Jacen had fallen deeply in love with her, and he had confessed to Luke to be sure he wouldn't get kicked out of the academy.  
"Tenel Ka," he said assuringly, "believe me, if you had something to worry about I would have told you. To answer your question, yes I do know. You have in no way offended him. As to the reason why he is avoiding you, it is a very private matter to him."  
He was trying his hardest to not crack a smile, but the look on Tenel Ka's face forced him to. "But don't worry. I assure you that he's fine."  
Tenel Ka nodded her head solemnly, and turned on her heel to start the climb back down the steep stairs. She stopped briefly to gaze at the stars for a moment, and then continued on her way.  
  
***  
  
Jacen heard a light knock at his door. Who would be awake at this time of night other than him? "Come on in," he called softly.  
Tenel Ka poked her braided head in the door. Jacen couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Hello Jacen," she spoke quietly, "May I come in?"  
He beckoned her to enter. He studied her closely. He was afraid to ask what he wanted to, for fear that she would laugh at the fact that he liked her. Before he got a chance to speak however, she said, "What is troubling you Jacen?"  
He swallowed. He was not ready for this moment.  
"Well, I. . .um. . ." stuttered Jacen," Uh, don't know how to say it. How do you feel about me? Truly feel."  
His words obviously startled her, because for a moment, she did not speak. She sat down on the edge of his bed and said, slowly but carefully, " I think of you as a friend, a very close and very dear friend. Sometimes however, you greatly intrigue me. I. . .feel strange and fluttery at these times. Why do you ask?"  
"Because, I think you are in love with me, and don't quite know that it is love." Jacen said hopefully. He hoped that he would be right, or he would probably die of embarrassment.  
  
For a long minute she sat there, thinking about the words that had hit the truth. She had never dared tell him, for she thought that it was unwise. "Jacen, I. . .I believe this is a fact," she said quietly.  
"YES!!" he yelled into the air," I knew it! Tenel Ka, I feel the same way. I never told you because I was afraid that you didn't feel that way about me."  
They sat there for a long time just staring at each other. She felt funny, like she should to do something. He looked at her, his gaze sweeping over her face, legs, and body. Finally, Tenel Ka leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead. " I'll see you tomorrow, Jacen," she said softly, and then got up and walked out of his room.  
  
***  
  
Luke got up from his uncomfortable stretch position and breathed deeply. Something felt wrong tonight. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew there was something amiss. He went to the edge of the great temple and looked out into the forests, using a Jedi technique to enhance his vision.  
"I still can't figure out what it is," he murmured to no one.  
He took a deep breath and relaxed. Then he leaped over the edge of the temple, meditated for a long moment, and then used the Force to lower himself gently to the ground. He began running into the thick jungle, dark due to the night. He leaped off the ground, and grabbed a low branch of a Massassai tree. He swung himself up, and continued to climb, using only his arms to pull himself up to the next branch. He was nearly at the top of the huge Massassai tree when he stopped dead in his tracks.  
The Force had disappeared from that spot. He half stood/half hung on the branch, shocked. Why had it disappeared? He pulled himself up to a standing position on the branch. He heard a soft rustle behind him. He whirled around, just fast enough to get slugged in the face with a piece of metal. He staggered back, seeing stars. His balance failed him and he tumbled to the forest floor. He landed hard, barely able to keep conscious. His head ached fiercely where he had been hit, and blood oozed form a large gash on his face and from several smaller cuts on his body. He rolled over to a crouch position and heard the heavy "thunk" of feet landing beside him. He quickly dodged to the side, but did not move fast enough. A foot slammed hard into his side, and there was a sharp pain in his neck. He fell to the ground, and then the world went black.  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
The next morning bloomed sunny and warm. Jaina had woken up early, and the sun was barely up. She strode out into the long hallway and quietly went to the door of the great temple. She loved the moist air, although it did greatly annoy her sometimes. The natural and persistent dampness always made the joints in her inventions stick.   
She walked around to her usual spot in the forest, where she, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie always met. This was their favorite spot because this is where they had met Lowie and plotted many quests together. Jacen was already there when she arrived.  
"Jaina, you'll never guess what happened to me last night!" he said, nearly bubbling with excitement.   
Jaina groaned. He must have found another pet. This was the same thing that he did every time he found a new pet. "No, Jacen, I won't. Just tell me what creature you found and I'll see if I can build it a cage."  
He just stood there for a moment, smiling. Then he said so softly that she could barely hear it, "Tenel Ka likes me."  
For a minute, all Jaina could do was stand there, mouth agape. Then she managed a sort of grunt/laugh. "Oh gosh. Are you sure Jacen? This is not something you should kid about."  
At that time, as if on cue, Tenel Ka and Lowie slipped through the underbrush. "This is a fact." she said, her voice full of happiness and embarrassment.   
Jaina rushed over to her brother and Tenel Ka, hugging them together. She couldn't think of a better way to show how grateful and happy she was, and get them closer at the same time. When she looked up at Jacen, his face was bright scarlet, and Tenel Ka's was a dull red.   
Lowie came over and hugged them all, as if to show that he approved. He growled something, and Em Teedee said, "Master Lowbacca says that he is extremely grateful that Tenel Ka and Jacen recognize their feelings towards one another, and wishes them the best of luck and much happiness."  
Lowie growled at Em Teedee and the tiny droid let out and exasperated sigh. And before he could say a single word, Lowie growled something that meant (at least Jaina though it meant) for the droid not to say a another word.   
  
After their long embrace, the group set out to wander the forest until they were too tired to do so any more, like they always did on every "time off" day. Lowie walked beside Jaina, a difficult task on the narrow trail. Though he was happy to see Tenel Ka and Jacen together, he was sad. He missed his home and sister on Kashyyyk. But he was happy here with his friends, too. From this point on the trial, he could clearly see the Great Temple. As they walked along, he became abruptly aware of the smell of blood. Human blood. He growled an inquiry. "Mistress Jaina, Master Jacen, Mistress Tenel Ka, Master Lowbacca wishes to inquire if any of you are bleeding," Em Teedee said.  
All three heads turned towards Lowbacca. They looked at each other quizzically. "No," answered Jacen, "Why?"  
Lowie growled a brief explanation. "Master Lowbacca smells the distinct odor of human blood somewhere nearby. He wishes to inquire if anyone is hurt," Em Teedee translated.   
"Well, I say we go check it out," said Jacen enthusiastically, " You never know what we'll find. Which way Lowie?"  
Lowie pointed in a direction and took off, with Tenel Ka, Jaina, and Jacen following.   
They came to a stop at the base of a huge Massassai tree. It was fairly close to the Great temple, well within a short run. They walked around the tree, examining for any trace of blood or dried blood.   
After about a minute, Jaina yelled, "Hey guys! Over here. Lowie is this what you smelled?"  
Lowie cocked his head slightly, and sniffed some more. He growled a reply. "Master Lowbacca says that there is more other than this. He believes it is up in the tree," said Em Teedee, "And if I were you, I would simply let it be. Who knows what trouble you could get me in this time!"  
Jacen groaned. Then he leaped up and pulled himself into the tree. "C'mon you guys. This might be fun. We get to climb a really big tree looking for blood. It would be a good way to help us with our Jedi abilities."  
Soon, all four were in the tree, making their way to the top. Soon Tenel Ka and Jacen stumbled on a piece of cloth fairly close to the top of the tree. It was a sky blue, soft and very familiar. "What do you think this came off of?" Jacen asked, "I've seen this type of cloth before. Have you?"  
All four studied it carefully for a while, and Tenel Ka suddenly blurted out, "It looks like one of Master Skywalker's over-robes, doesn't it?"  
That is when the puzzle clicked in Jaina's mind. The blood, the cloth, the fact that Uncle Luke didn't come back in last night. She quietly asked to Jacen, "Did you hear Uncle Luke come back in last night?"  
Jacen shook his head. "No. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked suspiciously, "But do you really think someone could have snuck onto Yavin 4, infiltrated our defenses, surprised Uncle Luke, the only Jedi Master in the galaxy, and managed to bag him without anyone knowing?"  
Jaina had a worry knot forming in her stomach. She thought about what he had said for a long moment, everyone looking at her. Reluctantly, she nodded her head. "Yes, I do. It's not impossible. Remember how Uncle Luke told us how he met Mara? With those ysalamiri things? Aren't they supposed to be able to block out the Force?"  
"Yeah, so?"  
"Wouldn't not being able to grasp the Force be enough to throw even a Jedi Master off balance for a minute or two?" said Jaina.  
Tenel Ka spoke. "Jacen, it is a possibility. With such a small gap in the Force, not even the greatest Jedi or Jedi Master would be able to feel it. It could have been a trap, specifically designed for Master Skywalker."  
"True. But there are still some of the bigger questions to be answered, like who did it, exactly how, when, and why," Jacen said stubbornly.  
So everyone climbed back out of the tree, Jacen mumbling all the way. Every once and a while, he would stop and pick up something and shove it into his utility belt. When they reached the bottom of the gigantic Massassai tree, he admitted that they had a good point. "I also found a bunch of little strips of black cloth, like the outfit Uncle. . .er, Master Skywalker always wears. I think you might actually be right for once, Jaina," he said slyly, "But don't you think we should actually make sure that he's gone before we jump to a conclusion?"  
"Sure, why not?" said Jaina, "Come on everybody, let's get back to the Temple."  
  
***  
  
Luke awoke hours later. He was in a small, solid gray room. Several small vents let in air. He was in a corner of the room, on his side, and he moved slightly to get a better view of his prison. He immediately wished he hadn't. An electric jolt shot through him. He fell back over, and for the first time noticed that he was bound with the Belsavis security manacles, highly illegal and expensive. "Oh, great. Just great," he said, craning his neck to try to see what was powering them.  
He couldn't find any power source what-so-ever. He sighed, and that sent a pain shooting down his side. That guy must have really done a number on me he thought. He groaned, and a door to his left slid open. A man's shape was silhouetted against the bight lights.  
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Skywalker. For a while there, I thought you might not have made it," said the man, stepping into the room, "Lights up, point eighty-two."  
The lights immediately came up, and Luke could see that the man was about Han's age, only much bigger and much stronger looking than Han was, or could ever hope to be. The man had sharp features, hazel eyes, and hair a shade darker than his own. His voice was a rich tenor's with a kindness behind it. "My name's King. Mac King. Hold on for a minute while I get this blasted electricity turned off. It was Zang's dumb idea anyway," he said.  
"Thanks. I still have no idea why I'm here though," Luke said, allowing King to reach around to flip some switch, "What do you want with me?"  
"To tell you the truth buddy, I really don't know. Zang . . he doesn't tell me much. Only what to do, how to do it, and where to take it once I have what he wants. He's my boss. I do what the doctor orders," He gave a small chuckle at his joke.  
He took the manacles off of Luke, and helped him to a sitting position. A look of horror crossed his face. He knelt in front of Luke, concern now mixed with fear. "Oh my god," he said softly, looking at the cut and huge bruise on the left side of Luke's face, "I'm so, so sorry. Did I do that? I . . I don't even recall what I would have done to do that."  
Luke sat there for a minute, and said, "I don't know who hit me, but if you did, I'd forgive you. I believe that you really don't know what you did. But. . ."  
"That will be quite enough of that King," a sharp, commanding voice said from the doorway, cutting off Luke's words. "I did not ask you to converse with Skywalker. Merely check to see if he was awake."  
King jumped up, outraged. "What did you do to me Zang?! What made me do this to him?" he said tightly, gesturing towards Luke's face.   
"Do not presume to over power me. I am your superior, and you are the inferior. Do you understand this, King?" Zang said menacingly, his dark eyes flashing.  
"Yes. . .but, this. . .this is unacceptable! I will not be manipulated like this! What do you think I. . .aggh!"  
King let out a cry and crumpled to the floor near Luke. He covered his ears, as if he was trying to keep out some noise that Luke could not hear. "Stop it!" Luke shouted, "What are you doing to him?"  
"Nothing that you need to worry about," Zang said.  
Luke struggled to his feet, and leaned against the wall for support. "I have every right to know. I don't know what your doing, but I do know is that what you do to him is unacceptable, on any terms. You don't hire a person to work for you and treat them like slaves. Not even the Empire did that!" Luke said, his temper rising to the surface.  
Zang simply stood there, scowling. Then, with an uncanny speed, he lashed out and struck Luke across the right side of his head with such force that Luke was thrown across the cell. He landed hard on his bad side and let out a short cry. Zang stood over him menacingly. "Do not talk like that to me again, Skywalker. You no longer have your Jedi abilities, and you are my prisoner. I am stronger, more deadly than King, if you will remember the beating he gave you," he said, and stalked out of the room, and locked the door behind him, leaving King trapped with Luke.  
  
  
Chapter Three  
  
A while later, when he could move again, King sat up and leaned against the wall. How did Zang do that? He still remembered the slicing pain that had coursed through his skull. What has he done to Skywalker? I heard him defend my actions, and then he cried out. That was the last I heard from him. He looked to his left, and saw Skywalker's still form sprawled near the back wall of the cell. He crawled over to him. Well, the least I can do is see if the poor guy's still alive. "Skywalker, can you hear me?" he asked.  
Skywalker must have been only half conscious, because he gave a weak groan and pushed himself up slightly, only to fall down again. King reached over and pulled him up to where he was leaning against the wall. "What happened to you?" King asked when he saw the fresh blood running down Skywalker's face.  
"He got mad, I think. I've got to stop doing these things," he replied with a slow shake of his head.  
"Before I forget, thank you for standing up for me," King said, "I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for you. Why did you do it? I nearly killed you, and you just saved me without a second thought. Why?"  
"It's my nature. Besides, you tried to amend something you couldn't undo," Skywalker told him, "And I had to find out what I was up against. Is it true that he is really stronger than you? Either he didn't slug me that hard or my nerves just aren't registering pain at the moment."  
"Well, judging by the new cut on your head, and the amount of blood coming out, I'd say it was probably the first of the two, or a lot of both. Do you get beat up all the time, Skywalker?"  
"Not as much as I used to, why?"  
"You have scars all over your face. Where did you get these from?" King said touching his fingertips to tree deep scars on Skywalker's bloodied face.  
"Oh, those. Um, Hoth. Have you ever heard of wampas?"  
"Yeah. They're supposed to be the biggest, strongest, hardest to catch game in the entire galaxy. Don't tell me you had a run in with one," King said astonished.  
Skywalker just barely nodded his head up and down. "Yes. That little encounter nearly killed me," he admitted.  
"Wow. What else have you done?"  
King was extremely curious about Skywalker now. This man has done so many heroic things, maybe I can learn something from him, thought King, at least from what I've heard about him, he should probably be a god of some sort.  
"What do you mean?" asked Skywalker.  
"Like, tell me more about the Alliance. Have you ever faced the Emperor or Darth Vader?"  
Skywalker remained silent for a moment, and then said softly, "Yes. I saw both of them die."  
"You killed the Emperor and Vader? Good lord! No wonder Zang has you in his highest security cell!"  
"No, I never said that. Vader killed the Emperor, not me. Vader might have died because of me, but I'll never really know for sure," he said reluctantly.  
Skywalker was not telling something. Some important detail. King had always been extremely good at judging people's personalities. "What aren't you telling me Skywalker? What are you afraid to tell?" King asked.  
Skywalker looked him in the eye for a long time. My, he has such amazing blue eyes! King thought. "Vader. . .he, was my father. He and the Emperor were trying to turn me to the dark side. Vader killed the Emperor because the Emperor was going to kill me."  
King sat there, eyes wide and chin dropped. "Vader. . .is your. . .father?" he finally managed.  
Skywalker nodded, and said, "It's not something that is commonly known about me. Kind of like the fact that everybody somehow got the idea that I killed both of them. I'm still explaining that little detail to a lot of people, even today."  
"Tell me more."  
At King's urging, he went on, telling about his many adventures, his family, friends, achievements, and not so great happenings. "Now, tell me about your self. I don't know anything about you other than your name and a few other little things," he said after he was done.  
"Well, I have a lot of related family I don't know and don't care to, my adopted family was pretty nice though, before someone wiped them out of the galaxy. I assume that I'm an only child, although that's never been proven. Lived most of my life as an out-cast street urchin, hired for mainly nasty jobs. I never got married, never had any children. Don't have a lot of friends that I can trust, and I have an "uncanny" ability to know when people aren't telling everything they could be," King explained.  
"Oh, I see. Well, I guess I don't have a lot to complain about," Skywalker said.  
"I don't know. Do you have any idea how to get us out of here?" King asked hopefully.  
"Us? Are you a prisoner now too?"  
"Apparently. Either that or Zang's just forgotten about me."  
"Well, maybe. I need your help though. I have no idea where I am, how heavily guarded we are, or even what planet we're on. Those are the blanks that only you can fill."  
  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Jacen was tired, hot, and sweaty by the time the group got back to the temple. They had gone back the way they came, looking for any other clue that might have supported their theory. It was a waste of time and energy, for they hadn't found a thing.  
The Great temple was a welcoming sight, for it held a place to relax and cool down. But that could wait till later. Sighing, he jogged up next to Jaina.   
"Where are we going to go know? Straight to Uncle Luke's chamber, to Tionne, or to Streen?" he asked.  
"We'll do all of them. We'll go to Uncle Luke's chamber first then to Tionne, then to Streen, then to the rest of the students. We'll find out what happened to him Jacen, even if it leads us all on another crazy adventure. Only this time, we will be much more careful and not let the Second Imperium grab you, or anyone else," she paused for a moment, "Jacen, one thought in particular frightens me more than the others. What if the Imperium has Uncle Luke? What if they brain wash him and we wind up fighting him? What if we have to kill him, like he had to do to his father, Vader?"  
Jacen looked into her eyes, and saw that they were full of conflicting emotions. Her Force aura was nervous, troubled, and exhausted. "I don't know, Jaina," he said, "I just don't know."  
"Do you think that if we can't find him we should call Dad? Or Mom? What if they never hear, and we come back to Coruscant with the news that he was missing and we found him dead?" she asked, "They'd be devastated. Uncle Luke is Dad's best friend, and mom's brother. If Uncle Luke is gone, I think they should know, don't you?"  
Jacen went over the possibilities again and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so. But only after we have proof that he's gone."  
  
It was late evening by the time Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie met again. Jacen and Tenel Ka had gone off to look for Tionne and Streen, while Lowie and Jaina went to look for messages and to ask the other students. They met in Jacen's room, where they were all hoping for some good news.  
None came.  
"What are we going to do?!" Jacen moaned, "We have got to tell Mom and Dad about this Jaina. Can you do that?"  
"Yes, I think so. Lowie, will you help me set up the equipment and stay with me?" she asked the chestnut brown wookiee.  
He nodded his head vigorously, and he and Jaina went to the door and left, leaving Jacen alone with Tenel Ka.  
He propped his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands. He was tired and utterly frustrated out of his mind. He was so involved in trying to press down fury that he didn't even notice Tenel Ka was sitting beside him until she put her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry Jacen," she said, "we'll find Master Skywalker. We will set him free from whatever scum is holding him captive."  
He looked up at her. Just the sight of her helped him calm the anger and the frustration. He leaned his head on her strong shoulder. "I hope we can Tenel Ka. I hope we can," he said softly.  
She started singing, and very much to Jacen's surprise, it was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. He had very much expected a strong, Hapes like chant, but this was soft and melodic. He listened as long as he could, but soon he settled into a deep sleep on her shoulder, and she fell asleep beside him.  
  
***  
  
Leia sat next to Han, her face tight with worry. Jaina had just told them the news about Luke. "Mom? What are we going to do? We have to help Uncle Luke, but we have no idea where he is," Jaina said sadly, "We need you and Dad to help us."  
"Don't worry honey," Han said to Leia and Jaina, "We're coming to Yavin 4 as soon as I get the Falcon up and running, and get take-off clearance."  
"Thank you for telling us Jaina. We appreciate you telling us what you found out this time, before you ran off into a crazy adventure," Leia said, trying for a little humor.  
"I'll call you if we find anything else. I will be waiting for you when you get here," Jaina said, "Oh, by the way, we're trying to keep this quiet, so don't call out the entire Fleet."  
Then she ended the transmission, leaving Leia and Han sitting together, holding each other for comfort. "Who could have done a thing like this Han?" she asked, "Why would anyone want to do this to Luke?"  
No answer came from him, and Leia looked up. His face was red, eyebrows cocked, eyes shut, and he was breathing slowly and deeply. She could tell that he was trying his hardest not to run out, tear up the entire city looking for Luke. Then a single tear came out of his tightly closed eyes, and for a long second, Leia just sat there, not believing what she was seeing. "Han, what's wrong?"  
"Just frustrated. Every time I finally think that things are settling down to a normal, non-threatening lifestyle, BOOM!" he gestured with his hands in a hopeless motion, "It goes haywire all over again. And, it is always you or Luke or Anakin or one of the twins that are the people getting hurt. It makes me crazy."  
"Han, it's not your fault. It never was. If you could have stopped it, I know that you would. You are the most dedicated and loyal person that I know, other than maybe Chewie. I believe that if you could, you'd fix the galaxy on your own and it would be perfect. But you can't, and no one else can either," she said soothingly, "But for now, all you can do is go to get the Falcon ready. I'm going to go talk to Ackbar and tell him where we're going, and get take-off clearance."  
"Okay, sure. I can do that. I'll be ready in a few minutes hon," he said, "Oh, by the way, thanks for the pep talk."  
"No problem."  
  
***  
  
Luke had fallen asleep, and King had stayed awake, not allowing himself to sleep because of the fact that he knew that once both he and Skywalker were asleep, Zang would take him away. He couldn't let that happen, even though he still had no idea what Zang had wanted with Skywalker.  
King had come to think of Luke as a friend that he could trust, despite the fact that he had only known him for a few hours. He had even come to a first name basis with him. No, he would not let Zang get what he wanted, even if it meant that he had to kill someone.  
He looked across the room at Luke's battered and still form, and wished that he had not been so blind to the fact that Zang had done something to him to make him hurt such a kind and decent man like that.  
Skywalker's breathing came in short, shallow breaths, which to King seemed like not nearly enough air to support a human. Every so often his breathing pattern would change, as though he was having trouble breathing. But soon, he stirred and looked up at King. "You should be resting. You can't do any good to yourself or anyone else if you are exhausted," he said sitting up, "But I appreciate your concern. Normally by now I would have been fine, except I can't touch the Force right now."  
"Can the Force heal people?" King asked.  
"Yes. It has brought me back more than once in my lifetime. I don't know exactly how it works, all I know is that it does."  
"Oh. Zang should be coming back soon. If he just forgot about me and left me in here by accident, I will try to help you as much as I can. All that I know for sure is that when he comes, he will take you someplace, and probably not the most pleasant of places at that."  
At that moment the door slid open, and there stood Zang, surrounded by four guards. "There you are. Naka poruo makr serte. Fenge da," he said.  
King had no idea what he said, and all four of the guards entered the small cell. Two of them had binders, one a high security and one large. King stood and slid next to Luke, who was already on his feet. "I've got a bad feeling about this Luke," he whispered.  
"That's just what Han would say, King, and I agree. This definitely does not look good."  
Then two of the guards held Luke in place and two strapped King into the manacles. They pushed him against the far wall and one stayed next to him, while the other went to shackle Luke. King was horrified for a moment, and then something snapped, and he went berserk. He slammed into the guard next to him with all the strength that he could muster and then he charged. The guard fell unconscious. Then another, who stepped to confront him did also. Faintly from the doorway he heard Zang mutter a word. A sharp stab of pain went through his mind, and he cried out in shock. He fell to the floor, and didn't even know that other guards had come in until he was yanked to his feet. They held him in place and put a hypospray to his neck. The last thing he saw of Luke before they took him away was Luke struggling against his guards and the manacles. Then, because of many combined reasons, he fell, and they took his limp body from the room.  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Sometime later, Luke awoke to the sound of sizzling and screaming. He was surprised to find himself alone in a brightly lit and windy room, hands and feet chained to the wall. Windy? Why would it be. . .oh. Never mind. This is definitely a bad thing. I'm out here on the wall over a long drop, straight down. Still can't touch the Force, so how do I get out of this little predicament? he thought to himself.  
Indeed he was. He was on the outer wall of a fortress, hidden in a long chain of mountains on no world he could recognize. The fortress was stone-washed white, much like the surrounding mountains and clouds. There were some patches of dark green on the mountains and out of the one nearest to the fortress, he could hear faint animal and alien calls.  
Then, suddenly, the wall shook behind him. His still groggy mind bolted awake with a sudden surge of unwanted adrenaline. To his amazement, the wall simply turned around, and he was inside a warm room with the smell of blackened flesh. He could barely choke down the urge to gag. The room was fairly dark compared to outside, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust.  
"Ah, finally. You know, Skywalker, I may consider letting you use those Jedi healing powers of yours after all. That little jolt we gave you kept you out for hours."  
Zang. It had to be him. No one else Luke knew of had that low, menacing voice. "You'd get no complaint out of me against that, Zang. You still haven't told me what you wanted me for yet though. Why? Why do you need me?" he asked.  
"Well, since you asked so nicely," Zang said, "I am in need of a partner. I am trying to provide myself with a friend to share my empire with. My sights are set on a very busy, very powerful, very rich underlord.   
"As you can see, these type of operations are not easy to deal with under New Republic law, and I need to prove myself to Him. I needed a connection to the central government on Coruscant. I needed a way to get to the President herself, or some nearly as powerful person there. So, I did a little research on Princess Leia. It was a commoner's biography, and so it listed many of her friends and family. It spoke often about you, Han Solo, Vader, Mon Mothma, Lando Calrissian, and so forth. But it mentioned a rarer known fact. That you were her one and only living relative. And not just any relative, her brother! What better a way to show my power to Him than to kidnap the only Jedi Master in the galaxy, one of the heroes of the rebellion, the President's brother, and Vader's son?" he explained.  
For a minute, Luke could not answer, he was so stricken with surprise. "All of this. . ." he finally stuttered, "Was to impress some. . .underlord?"  
"Oh, did I forget to mention that he has some major grudge against you? Not even I know what that is. What did you do to him?"  
"I don't even know who "he" is. Care to refresh my memory?" Luke admitted.  
"What do you mean? Don't you remember. . .Prince Xizor? The great underlord of the Black Sun?"  
"What?! Xizor's dead!"  
"No," came a new voice from an unseen doorway, "I am far from dead Skywalker."  
Then Xizor's green, high class form stepped through the doorway. "But you did cause significant damage to me and my organization. Yet, as you can clearly see, I am not at all dead."  
"Prince Xizor!," Zang said as he bowed deeply, "I was not expecting your honored presence at this point in time. I have completed my mission. Have you found me worthy of your approval yet?"  
"Perhaps. But I correct your careless words. You have not brought Organa Solo to me yet. Your mission is not complete. But so far, you are performing well Zang," Xizor said, never swaying his gaze from Luke, "Now. Leave us. Take your pitiful guards and prisoners with you too."  
Zang left without another word, taking everyone else with him. It left an uncomfortable stillness in the air between Xizor and Luke. The only sound was the drip- drip of a leaking water pipe and the sound of Luke's ragged breathing. "So, Skywalker. You really are a Jedi Master. I should have suspected as much. Tell me, how is your sister?" Xizor proclaimed.  
"She's happily married and has three kids of her own. What do you want with her Xizor?" Luke answered warily.  
"Why, what all men want of course. Even more than the last time I had her within my grasp. And you are a perfect bait for my trap. If Solo comes along with her, I'll just throw him in here with you, and then let Zang do as he pleases with him. But you will be coming with me."  
He grasped Luke's chin and moved his face close to Luke's. "One day, she may be able to leave. But you, Skywalker, will never escape from my grasp. Never again will you see your precious academy, the high-rise of Coruscant, the faces of you friends--unless I allow it to be so."  
Then he turned as if to go. But he whirled around and punched Luke hard in the stomach. The ferocity of the punch doubled Luke over as far as his restraints would allow. Xizor then slammed Luke's back up against the wall. The beating continued for the better part of fifteen standard minutes. He did not stop until Luke was hanging slack from his bindings.  
  
***  
  
They had put King in a low security cell after the guards had taken Luke away. They had left him without his bindings on in a deep part of the "dungeon". The guards that put him there obviously didn't know that this was the area King had patrolled.  
He had once befriended a Narika named Sanba there, and Sanba had discovered a way out into the fortress. He had told King where it was and showed him before he had escaped. King had never heard from Sanba again.  
But he remembered the secret exit.  
"Thank you, Sanba. Force be with you where ever you are," King whispered.  
He crawled over to the wall panel where it could be slid back. He looked around briefly and scampered into the passageway, closing the entrance behind him.  
  
***  
  
He hurried down the narrow passageway, which wound it's way past all of the prison cells except for the highest security cell, which was located in Zang's room. It twisted and turned, and forked off in many places. At one point, he stumbled over an old holo-recoder. Now why would this be here? he thought. It was still operational, and in very good condition. It still held a message, so King turned the sound down very low and played it.  
It played a message of an excited Sanba. "Mac, my friend. I wish to thank you for all you have done for me," it said, "You were a good friend and jail keeper. I leave you this device to keep as your own and do with as you please. It took me hours to figure out how to make it work, and I believe you will know how to work it better than I. I am going to return to my family on Manarai, which I have not seen in many years. If you should need to contact me, you can find me there. And for now, I bid you farewell."  
King smiled in return. Then the smiling face disappeared. Then he remembered the task at hand. He carefully walked down the corridor and turned the corner that went past the "torture room". He was half way past it when he heard a voice. "Now. Leave us," it said, "and take your pitiful prisoners and guards with you."  
King had never heard this voice before, and he crept back slowly to see who was speaking. He crouched near a vent and started the holo-recorder. Then he peered into the room.   
He fought back the rising rage and kept his cool. He saw Luke, hands and feet chained to the revolving wall, with a tall green man standing in front of him. He had heard Luke say this man's name. What was it? Xizor? thought King, I'll find a way to get you back Xizor, if it's the last thing I ever do. Hah. Hurt my friend will you! I'll talk to these Han and Leia persons. I'll warn them and show them this video. They'll come and destroy you. Whoa! Why am I thinking this?! I've got to learn to control that. But first, I've got to warn Han and Leia.  
Then he turned off the recorder and ran the entire way to the comm room, for he could bear to watch no more.  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Jaina was already at the landing pad near the Great temple when the Millennium Falcon landed. She waited, not quite patiently until the hatch opened and her mother and father had come out and she was in their arms. "Mom, Dad! Thank you so much for coming. I'm really worried about Uncle Luke. I don't know what to do. Neither does Jacen, Lowie or Tenel Ka. Hey, did you know that Jacen and Tenel Ka are getting involved? They've become quite an object," she added.  
"It's nice to see you too, Jaina," Han said, "Really? Jacen and Tenel Ka? Hon, we may yet be related to Hapes in other ways than a friendly alliance."  
Leia gave a light laugh. "Maybe. But last time something like this happened, it didn't turn out exactly the way a lot of people had hoped. It almost stopped us from getting married in the first place, if you recall."  
"Yeah, well," Han said, remembering his close encounter on Dathomir, "it was what got us married too."  
Leia just shook her head and turned to Jaina, who was wearing this look on her face that said, "Uh, excuse me, but did I miss something?". "Don't worry, Jaina. I'll explain it to you later. It's a long story," Leia said.  
Han allowed Jaina and Leia to lead him into the Jedi academy. He was still deeply disturbed that someone had been able to get to Luke without anyone knowing it. A freak memory went through his mind, the memory of Luke on Asylum Station by the crystal star. It had caught Luke without his powers, and Han had almost lost him, Leia, Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina there.  
He was so into the memory, that he jumped when Leia put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, nerfherder! Snap out of it! Your comm signal on the Falcon is blinking like mad. Didn't you notice?" she asked.  
"Uh, yeah. I'll be right back. If it's some salesperson, I am going to murder them," he gave an uncertain chuckle, "I hope the Falcon isn't listed in the hyperspace directories."  
He jogged back to the Falcon and opened the comm-link. "Solo," he answered, "What is it?"  
"Mister Solo? You do not know me, but I assure you, you'll want to listen to me," the man on the other end answered back, "Is your wife with you? She'll want to hear this too. And, no, I am NOT a salesman, if that's what you're thinking."  
"Sure, hold on a minute," he went to the Falcon's hatch and called to Leia, "Hey, your Highness, this guy wants to talk to both of us."  
A half a minute later, Leia and Han were seated on the Falcon. "All right. You may continue sir," she said.  
"Very well. My name is Mac King, and I am a prisoner of Zang Duamos, the crime underlord of the Sand Star. It is not a very well heard of group, but I assure you, Zang is getting into some heavy business. You are probably wondering why I have risked my neck calling you. I snuck out of my prison cell using an old passageway one of the inmates I guarded showed me."  
"Now wait just a minute there buddy!" Han said, confused, "I thought you said you were a prisoner there, not a guard."  
"General Solo! Please allow me to finish. I will answer your questions when I'm done explaining.  
"Now, as I was saying I used to be a guard here. I was until Zang met some guy he wanted as a business partner and made me do something I dearly regret doing. I was the one that kidnapped Luke."  
"But, how could. . ." Leia stuttered.  
"Please, President Solo, don't make accusations at me yet. I am trying to help him. I was trapped in the same cell Luke was, and I became very good friends with him. He's a very heroic, very nice man. I wish I could be a lot more like him, and I wish my family had been like him. But, that is not the reason I called. I need to tell you where we are. Have you ever heard of a planet called Ferenga?" King asked.  
"No, we haven't. Is that where you and Luke are?" Leia asked hopefully.  
"Yes. But I have to tell you, this crimelord Zang is dealing with, do you think that you'd know him if I told you his name?"  
"Possibly. I know of many crimelords in the galaxy that the New Republic has not been able to find," Leia said calmly, "What is his name?"  
"I'm not exactly sure," said the image of King, "But I think his name is Xizor."  
"Xizor!" Leia shouted, her face white with surprise and fear, "But he died long before the Emperor or Vader. How can it be him?"  
"I do not know. I have a holo-clip of this Xizor guy. I. . .I can't watch it. Not again. I'll just show it to you, but I don't blame you if you turn it off. Here goes."  
The image started playing, and Han could barely watch. All that he could see was a bruised, battered image of Luke, and a finely dressed, tall, green guy with a funky hairdo. He was punching and hitting Luke, who was chained to the wall. Poor kid. I'll be coming for you as soon as I can. I promise. Hang in there, kid, hang in there! Han thought.  
The recording stopped when Xizor walked out of the room, leaving Luke hang there, bloody and unable to do anything at all. The image was replaced by King's face and shoulders.  
"I'm sorry," he said, "I can't watch Luke go through that again. I have to tell you something I forgot to mention. Luke can't use the Force here. Ysalamiri are all over the place, just like on Myrkr. He can't heal himself. So I urge you to hurry. The sooner you get here, the more chance there is to finding him alive."  
He looked away for a moment and came back. "I have to go. Otherwise Zang will notice that I've been gone for too long. Remember, we're on Ferenga, in the White Mountain Fortress. If you ask a native in one of the villages, they'll know where to find it. It is easiest to come by dawn, on the northeast side of it. May the Force be with you."  
Then the call ended, and Han could only sit there, shocked into silence.  
"We have to get him out of there Han," Leia said, her face still frozen on the blank screen, "If this King guy is right, Luke could be dead just by that beating Xizor gave him. Did I ever tell you about Xizor?"  
Han turned to look at her. "No. Who the heck is he? When did you guys meet up with him? Lando said his name once, and when I asked who he was, he wouldn't tell me a thing about him. He only said that he was dead. But, from the look of it, he's not," Han said.  
"You remember that time when you were in carbon freeze at Jabba's? Of course. That's a silly question, but during that time, Luke, Lando, Dash Rendar, and me teamed up to try to get you back and to try to figure out who was trying to knock Luke off. I needed to get some information, and I was so desperate, I went to the Black Sun," she explained.  
"The Black Sun! Leia were you crazy? That is and was the worst organization to ever come to the galaxy! A word of them on Corellia could get you thrown in jail, or worse," exclaimed Han.  
"Well then it's a good thing I wasn't there then. But anyway, Xizor ran the Black Sun. He had captured me and Chewie to get to Luke. Then Chewie got away and came back with Luke, Lando, and Dash, and they rescued me. But we left just before his millions of credits castle was leveled by a few thermal detonators.  
"But I don't think that's the reason why he hates Luke. If I recall correctly, Xizor's family and planet were wiped out by Vader. That was the reason he wanted Luke dead. To get back at Vader," she said, "But I still don't know why he would need Luke now, since Vader's dead."  
"Maybe he still isn't over it, and needs to vent it on one of Vader's closest relatives. And the closest relative Vader had was Luke," Han suggested.  
Leia got up from her seat and went to the door of the Falcon. "Possibly, but I wouldn't bet my life on it, or Luke's," she said, "Now come on. We aren't doing Luke any good going over motives. Let's go get the kids and rock Xizor's twisted little world."  
Han smiled at her joke and followed her out of the ship, his spirit filled with a renewed sense of hope.  
  
***  
  
A few hours after King had relocated himself in the small cell, Zang came in from the hallway.  
Zang wore a dark green robe, edged with gold trimming. His dark hair was neatly combed and tied behind his head in a low ponytail. He had just bathed, and his brown skin smelled of moonglow, a rare, exotic, and highly poisonous fruit.  
He approached King with a royal gait, and then said, "Guards, wait down the corridor. I will call you if I need you."  
The two Gammorean guards (whom King had always thought of as despicable) turned and left, talking in their own unintelligible language. They walked down the damp corridor, and then turned a corner out of sight.  
"Well King. Isn't this an odd predicament? You were once my one and only companion, the only person that I trusted. Now, look at you. A prisoner at my feet, struggling to save the man that you had just met. I do give you credit you know," he said, "Trying to amend the things that you did to Skywalker. I really do not wish to keep you in here alone, my friend."  
This was a speech that King was totally unprepared for. He had expected a taunting, nasty, cruel chastise. But this was a kind, understanding one. "Fine, but why?" King asked, determined to make the most of a good moment, "Tell me why you need Luke. Who is this guy that you're dealing with?"  
"Very well, I shall tell you what I can. I actually do not want Skywalker alone, because of the way Prince Xizor, he's the man I'm dealing with, treats him. I want you be in the room with Skywalker in case Xizor tries to murder him or rough him up a little too much," he said, "With the thrashing that he just gave Skywalker, I'm not sure I want to be alone with him.   
"I really don't know what he wants with Skywalker, except for the fact that it's personal. He wants also to get to Leia Organa Solo, and that reason is not yet clear to me either. All I know is that he's dangerous, and that I have treated you unfairly. Please allow me to escort you to Luke Skywalker before I go to meet with Prince Xizor."  
"Sure, I'd appreciate that Zang," King said, "But just in case, good luck with Xizor. Oh, and try not to do anything stupid."  
  
***  
  
Zang led King down the passageway to the isolation cells and then down another to the torture rooms. The air down here was unusually "clean", for it lacked its normal bloody stench. King was led to a small, nondescript room and he and Zang waited for a few moments for the door to unlock.  
The door slid back, and King's hand shakily rose to his gaping mouth. Zang hung his head and would not look King in the eye when he spoke. "I want you to care for him King, otherwise, he might die. Just being there with him might help him too. I'll let him out of the clamps once the door is sealed behind you," he said sadly as he handed King a med-pack and a small device, "Here. This should do him some good. This is a one-way comm, and if something suddenly occurs to threaten Skywalker's existence, press this button here. It will come directly to me and the medical droids, and we will be here before the door opens.  
"King, I have every faith in you. Please, do not let any more harm befall Skywalker. If he dies today, then Leia and Han will never get to him alive, as you told them."  
King turned his head to face Zang before he walked into the cell where Luke's battered form hung from the wall. "You knew about that?" he asked.  
Zang nodded his head and leaned to whisper in King's ear. "I will help you as I can King. But for now I must leave."  
King walked into the small cell and the door slid shut behind him. He heard the whirr click of the locking mechanism and he hurried over to Skywalker's limp form. The clips abruptly released Luke's wrists and ankles, and King just barely caught him. Like King, Luke had been stripped down to his pants, his shirt and boots probably incinerated in the acid pit.  
King carefully put down the smaller man, and quickly assessed the damage done by Xizor's attack. Luke's body was black and blue, and cuts were abundant. Some were oozing half dried blood, others were dried, but red and infected. The worst cuts were still bleeding, and were parallel to four other similar cuts, probably from Xizor's claws.  
There were huge, dark bruises under his eyes, on his face, and on several spots on his rib cage. His breathing came in short, shallow gasps, and his skin was waxy and grayish. His light brown hair was matted with blood, his eyes swollen shut. His pants were ripped and slashed in several places, and King could see painful looking cuts there too.  
King opened the med-pack and carefully cleaned the worst wounds, covered the ones still bleeding, and wrapped Luke's ribs in a bandage. He could not tell what bones were broken or fractured, but he knew that they existed. Then, still not completely satisfied, but satisfied at what he could do for now, he leaned against the wall and allowed himself to sleep.  
  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
King awoke a few hours later. According to his wrist chrono, it would be night. But what had awakened him?  
He heard a faint groan, as though someone was awakening from too long a sleep. His not completely awake mind jolted awake, and he heard it again. He turned down the lights to almost nothing, and went over to Luke.  
"Luke?" he asked, "Luke, are you awake?"  
Luke slowly opened his eyes, and squinted at the face over him. "King?"  
King smiled. He felt giddy, and he wanted to take Luke in his arms and whirl him around to rejoice in the fact that he was alive. He resisted the urge and just smiled broadly. "Yes. Thank the stars you're alive. You scared me half to death, Luke. I didn't know if you made it there for awhile. I got a message out to Han and Leia. There coming soon. Tonight, I hope," he said.  
"Where are we now?" Luke asked, not recognizing the cell they were in.  
"We're in one of the isolation cells outside the torture room. Zang is on our side as much as he can be right now. I don't know how he plans to trick Xizor into getting you out of here, but I hope he does it fast. If Xizor comes back, you might not survive it."  
"I think you might be right about that. How bad is it?" Luke asked.  
"He did a nice number on you. Cut aplenty, bruises more common than cuts, a few of the cuts are infected, I assume you've got a lot of cracked ribs, a few fractures, and a concussion or two. I did my best with the med-kit that Zang gave me, but you need more help than I, or anyone else here, can offer," King said glumly, "I can't help but feel a little bit too responsible for this. Can I do anything else?"  
Luke tried to sit up, but he fell back down with a loud groan, clutching at his ribs. He curled up on his side, face locked in a mask of unbearable pain. "Luke! What is it?" King asked alarmed, unable to do anything to help. Then he realized with a start, My god! His ribs must be killing him. I've never been in enough pain to make me cry. After all he's been through, this really must be unbearable!  
He leaned over Luke, not really sure of what to do. Finally, he just cradled Luke's head in his lap, and waited, unable to do anything more to help.  
  
***  
  
Leia sat anxiously waiting in the Great Hall of the temple. She was annoyed at having to wait for Jacen and Tenel Ka, but she would not leave without them.  
She remembered the time when she had been called here, just shortly after Anakin was born, to aid the first of Luke's students try to defeat Exar Kun and free Luke's spirit. She remembered looking at his lifeless body, stretched out at the end of the promenade, and the thought brought tears to her eyes. It might be happening again, she thought, but only this time, he might really be dead.  
Han sat next to her, tightly holding her hand. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he was thinking the same thing. His eyes were swollen and had huge dark circles under them, because he had not slept since they first got word of Luke. Leia wasn't sure, but she thought she had heard him crying very softly last night when he had thought that she was asleep.  
She let out an audible sigh of relief when Jacen and Tenel Ka finally walked through the door. "It's about time you two got here!" Han said beside her, with a noticeable edge of irritation on his voice.  
"Han," Leia scolded softly, "Thank you for coming on such short notice you two. I hope I didn't interrupt anything too important."  
Jacen's face turned slightly red, but he ran forward to hug his mother and father anyway. "It's nice to see you too. Mom, what's with the outfit?"  
Leia could feel her face redden. She had forgotten that she was wearing some of her "rough and tumble" clothes. "I can't very well rescue your Uncle Luke with my ambassadorial gown on, can I?" she replied.  
"True," Han said, "But now that everybody's here, shouldn't we get going?"  
Lowie, Tenel Ka, Jaina, and Jacen all nodded in agreement.  
So the group headed for the Falcon and boarded without a word. Leia took the seat next to Han, and was suddenly stuck with a pang of loneliness. It didn't feel right without Chewbacca in the co-pilot's seat, but there was no time to go and get him off of Kashyyyk. They had to rescue Luke.  
"Han, you awake?" she asked.  
"Uh, yeah. I just hope that we're leaving soon though," he turned to her, "I don't want to find Luke dead, not after all these years, and all that he's done for you, me and the kids. I wouldn't be able to stand it. Leia, he's like a brother to me. If he's gone, I'll never forgive myself."  
The Falcon rose shakily into the air on its repulsorlifts and rocketed through the atmosphere into the void of space. "I know how you feel Han. I am as in the dark as you are about him right now. If this King guy that called us said right, Xizor's got ysalamiri all over the place. I won't be able to touch the Force there. I can't tell if Luke's. . .alive or not. It's making me crazy," she said.  
"You already are. Call Coruscant hon. Figure out where this Ferenga is so we can kick Xizor's green butt all the way to the Maw cluster and shove it in a black hole," Han said, his jaw setting into a grim line of determination.  
She laughed at Han's remark and got up to go call Coruscant. She was relieved that they were going to get Luke, but there was a deep fear already in her heart.  
  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Xizor looked calm. Well, as calm as he could possibly be, considering the circumstances. He looked across the long table at Zang Duamos, the little dealer that thought he had a chance at success. He, as far as Xizor could tell, had no idea what would happen to him in a few short minutes.  
Xizor sat sipping at green champagne, letting it remind him of this anniversary. He was not listening to a word that this human was saying. He was more interested in the fact that soon his revenge against Darth Vader would be complete. He would have both of Vader's children, one as his mate the other as his slave. He remembered spying on Leia, forcing her into submission. He had wanted no one more than her, especially after she and her friends leveled his castle on Coruscant. Yes, at the time he had been enraged, but that only lasted a few months during the many years he had spent recuperating.   
"Prince Xizor?"  
"Yes?" he asked, slightly startled.  
"Why are you guards waiting outside the door? Do you not trust me?" Zang asked.  
"Trust is to be earned Mr. Duamos. Your operation has not yet passed my inspections. I have not trusted anyone for a very long time."  
"I see. Do you have any questions about the contract then?"  
"I want you to write it out, set it in the material of a Credits of Resource card. Then I will look it over and see if I can agree to it's conditions," Xizor said.  
"Very well. If there are no further statements, I adjourn this meeting."  
Xizor stood up and walked to the door. "Follow me closely, and do exactly as I say," he whispered to his guards.  
  
Zang walked slowly back to his room after the three hour meeting. It had exhausted him, talking to this man. Xizor had said only half an hour's worth of speeches.  
He stopped at his private pantry, and poured a glass of fine winter wine for himself. Then he continued on his way. He opened the door to his room, and walked in craving a good night's sleep. He heard the door slide softly closed behind him, and snapped around at Xizor's voice behind him. "You little fool," Xizor said, "I was never planning an alliance with you. As of now, I have no more use for you. Surna! You know what to do with him."  
Zang stepped back in surprise. He bumped into a hard bodied woman, who, with a blinding speed, had him in a choke hold before he could even cry out. Zang was gasping for air, but he could not free himself from the woman's hold. His vision began to blur at the edges, and he struggled to get away. He couldn't yell when he felt a knife pierce the lower part of his back. He could feel the blood ooze down his tunic, and run down his leg. It was the last thing he felt before the woman snapped his neck.  
  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Xizor strode down the hall, and paused only momentarily to grab his comm-link when it beeped.   
"Yes Surna, what is it?"  
The voice came back over the comm sounding confident and cool. "My, lord. A ship came out of hyperspace just outside of the red flight control zone a few moments ago. It is orbiting the planet as I speak. There are six life forms on the ship. The ship matches the qualifications of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo's ship. It appears to be landing close to the village near our location."  
"Good. Track them further. Send three of my best spies to watch them and discover who is with them. I need to know what I'm up against," he said, "Oh, and send guards to watch the perimeters of the Fortress, so I will know when they are coming. Give them orders to shoot on sight, but use stun only. I don't want my prize damaged."  
"Yes, sir," Surna said, and the comm went silent.  
  
***  
  
Hours from after they entered hyperspace, the Falcon came out near a small, green and white planet near Bakura. From where he sat, Jacen could see huge patches of dark blue. It was really a beautiful planet, full of life, but Jacen could only find parts of it with the Force. Now he knew what Uncle Luke must feel like right now. Blind, completely helpless. Is this what it feels like to Dad? he thought.  
Beside him, Tenel Ka slept peacefully with her head resting on Jacen's shoulder. Jacen lifted his hand and slowly stroked the red-gold braids of her soft hair. He loved her, there was no denying that. But was it right? If he was a Jedi, was he allowed to love? He had no examples, and Uncle Luke didn't know either.   
The thought of his uncle caused a sweep of anxiety to course through him. He had watched the message given to Mom and Dad. He had watched in utter silence, watching Luke take blow after mighty blow. He had turned it off a few minutes after he found it. He had seen very little of the actual message, but the picture was burned into his mind.  
He leaned his head against Tenel Ka's, and looked at her legs. He wanted her badly. He wanted her right now, but he had to focus on the task at hand.  
"Okay everybody!" Han yelled from the cockpit, jerking Jacen and Tenel Ka fully awake, "Planetfall time. Jaina, call Lowie and I'll let you two help. Jacen, Tenel Ka, look for villages and white shaded mountains. Find out who lives here too, if that's possible."  
"Sure thing Dad," Jaina said and went to locate Lowie.  
  
***  
  
They landed in a short way into the foot-hill mountains of Ferenga. The ship hit several trees on the way down, and they stopped with a creak and groan from the Falcon.  
The outer hatch sighed open, and Han walked slowly down the ramp. He was awed at the lushness of the jungles, the sound of them too. Birds twittered and sang, the wind rustled the leaves in a hypnotic pattern of sound, the soft sound of a rain shower could be heard and felt, and he thought he could hear a waterfall in the distance. The jungle smelled of rain, flowers, and strawberries with sugar. Overall, it was absolutely inticing to the senses.  
"Leia," he called, "Come look at this. It's positively gorgeous."  
She walked down to join him and could not tear her eyes from the stunning beauty of the tropical forest. "It's amazing Han! I'm very surprised that so little people have heard of it before. It is so close to a tropical paradise, there should be people everywhere," she said breathlessly.  
"That's probably why it's so much like this. There aren't enough beings around to disturb it. Anyway, this type of forestry only lasts until those white mountains rise up."  
Jacen and Tenel Ka came scrambling down the ramp, hand in hand. They were whispering softly between themselves. Jaina came behind them, only halfway out of the door. "Good luck you guys! Lowie and me will be in the Falcon if you need us. Remember to call us if there's trouble, or when you need a pick up. That is what we decided isn't it?" she asked.  
"You bet," Leia said, brushing at a stain on her informal outfit, "I wish we knew exactly where to go though."  
Han scanned the mountains, and stopped in a spot that didn't quite match the mountain. He took out a pair of macrobinoculars and squinted through them. Yep, it was a building all right. A big one, heavily guarded too.  
"Hey, Leia! Look at this. I may have found this fortress our friend King was babbling about," he called.  
She immediately rushed over and took the macrobinoculars out of Han's outstretched hand. She peered through them, and then put them down. For a moment she just stood there with her eyes closed, taking in perceptions through the Force. "That's got to be the place. I can't feel it in the Force. How long do you think it would take for us to get there Han?"  
"Maybe a day or less. It's not that far from here, just a hard climb. Rough terrain, a little jungle, more mountain," he told her.  
"Well, let's get going. It's early morning here right?" she asked.  
Han checked the chronometer on his wrist and nodded.  
"We should get going then. We'll make it by early morning or late night, which King said that it would be easier to sneak in anyway then," she said picking up a 'pack and fastened her lightsaber and Luke's to her belt.  
  
It was late night by the time they reached the fortress. They were exhausted, sweaty and tired, but they were also nervous. Tenel Ka could feel these emotions around her, but when she probed a little deeper, she found a strong determination underlying everything.  
She sat down near Jacen, and took a drink from her water supply. Jacen was looking at some small animal nearby and she watched him try to coax it into his hand. Finally, he sat up, apparently discouraged.   
"I just don't get it," he said to Leia, "We're only a half a mile away from the fortress. Shouldn't we be able to feel Uncle Luke by now Mom?"  
Leia placed her 'pack down next to them, and knelt down on the hard ground. "I don't think so Jacen. Scan a few hundred meters that way," she said pointing slightly behind them and to the left, "If what King said was true, then by the time we get there, we won't be able to use the Force either."  
Tenel Ka used her Jedi abilities to scan in the direction that Leia had pointed. She could feel little animals, the rocks, and the small patches of grass. Abruptly, she couldn't feel anything. There was a huge gap in the Force. She could feel herself startle, and she saw that Jacen's reaction was the same as hers. For a long moment, she just sat there, marveling at the blankness that the ysalamiri could produce, and at the lengths that they produced them. But the fact that she would not be able to touch the Force there was profoundly disturbing.  
"Is that why we cannot sense Master Skywalker through the Force Leia?" she asked.  
"Yes. It is very disturbing to be without the Force isn't it? I feel so sorry for Luke. The Force is so strong in him, and he's trained with it since before I ever met him. To be without it, it must be devastating. But then again, he's done it before on Myrkr. Maybe he can cope with it," she said softly, "But I know at least I'll feel better when I can hold him again, and make sure that he's okay."  
"Hey people," Han said as he came over, "You ready to go get Luke? I know that I am."  
"This is a fact. I am also anxious to see Master Skywalker again. There is an important question I need to ask him," Tenel Ka said, "It's been bugging me for weeks."  
So they dropped their packs and Jacen and Tenel Ka took out their lightsabers and fastened them securely to their belts. Han took out a new charge or two for his blaster and then after a final, thorough check at their readiness for nearly every possibility, started up the steep slope to the White Mountain Fortress.  
  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
King sat in the corner of the darkened cell, relieved to find that Luke had fallen asleep after King had given him a painkiller patch. King was tired, but he dared not fall asleep, because he knew. He knew that they were coming, tonight, very soon. Every fiber in his being felt it, like a psychic flash.  
He was not really thinking about psychic flashes though. King was thinking of what Zang had been able to do to him. The pains through his skull, the murderous rages that he had put King into, the hypnosis that made him do things he could not even remember. How? was the question that burned through his mind, pushing his brain to the limits of their knowledge. Had Zang done something to his drinks? Had he implanted something in my brain? Was he an alien with mind powers?  
He couldn't figure it out. So after an hour or so, he got up and stretched his aching muscles. Ow, I must have been sitting like that for longer than I thought! It's probably nothing compared to what Luke's in. If he can take that much with only voicing it once, then I can take a few stiff muscles.  
He paced around the cell, looking for something to use to get out. A loose piece of metal, anything. He couldn't find a thing, and utterly discouraged, he sat down again. "I give up. I'm stuck in my own fortress, in the smallest room possible. I'm filthy, and getting chlostrophobia. What next?!" he called to no one.  
"I don't know," Luke's voice came from next to him, "But you make enough noise to wake the half dead."  
King looked down at Luke and smiled. He could feel his face getting red. "Sorry, Luke. It's just driving me crazy being in here. I hate little places, enclosed or not," he said.  
"I don't blame you King. They're not my favorite spots either," he sighed and opened his swollen blue eyes, "But if you sleep you really can't tell. Get some rest King. You need it, possibly more than I do."  
"No way Luke. You need all the strength you can get right now. Xizor beat the pulp out of you! You can't take another one of those you know," King said matter-of-factly, pointing out the obvious.  
"Really, I didn't notice," Luke said sarcastically, tilting his head to look King in the eye, "But you need your strength too. You can't be any good to me if you're exhausted. You can barely stay awake! Besides, if Han and Leia are coming tonight, you need to be ready."  
"Fine, I'll rest," King said, frustrated, "But only for a little while. I have a feeling that everything will happen at once the second that I'm down though. So if you get taken, it's not my fault."  
"It never was, King."  
Luke pressed himself up and sat up with a grunt, placed a hand to quiet the pain ripping through his still throbbing ribs, and leaned against the wall. King let himself relax a little bit, now that he knew that Luke could at least sit up on his own again. "Luke," King said, "When we get out of here, I want you to get the best doctor you can find for yourself, okay?"  
Luke stared at him quizzically for a moment and slowly shook his head from side to side. "Sorry, but if I know Leia, she'll want to keep this quiet. If I go to Coruscant looking like this, who knows what the media will come up with. Even when I go there just to see Han, Leia, and the kids, it causes enough rumors as it is."  
"Then bring the best doctor you can find to Yavin 4," King said stubbornly.  
"That'll make first page for weeks."  
King threw up his hands in a hopeless gesture. "Fine," he said, "Have it your way. But until you're better, I am not leaving your side, even if it kills me."  
Luke gave him that look again, the one that said "that really isn't necessary", but said, "Uh, thanks. I'll mean a lot to Leia and Han."  
Finally satisfied that he could sleep, King laid down, and sleep stole over him in a few short minutes.  
  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Han crouched on the ground next to Leia, his mind not completely focused on the task at hand. His mind wandered from undesirable outcomes to what he could have done to stop this from happening. How could he hot-wire under conditions like this, with these kind of enhancements? He stuck his tongue between his teeth and squinted harder at the wires in his hand.  
"Sorry this is taking so long hon," he said to Leia, "But this is not your usual circuitry. Smuggler and highly illegal enhancements. Heck, I haven't done one this hard in years, probably since before I even met you."  
"That's reassuring. Do you think you can get it sometime tonight though?" Leia asked jokingly.  
"Ha, ha. Very funny. Maybe you should get Jacen to tell more jokes like that. It may well improve his act."  
"Hey! I heard that! My jokes aren't that bad, are they Tenel Ka?" Jacen said from behind him at his shadowed guard spot.  
Tenel Ka didn't say a word.  
"Tenel Ka?" Jacen asked again, more worried this time.  
The only response he got was a sharp and commanding shhh from her. "Listen closely. Do you hear guards up there?" she asked.  
Han stained his ears. He could, but just barely. They were far enough away not to worry too much though. At that moment, the door he had been working on slid open with a shriek. He jerked back, surprised at the sound. "Leia, kids! It's open if you want in. Hurry though. Those guards might have heard this rusty old thing," he whispered, and ducked into the doorway, with the others right behind him. He slammed the close panel and the door slid shut.  
Han leaned against the wall, allowing his eyes to adjust to the brighter interior of the building. When he could finally see again, he nodded to Leia and the kids, took out his blaster and started down the hall. They were inside! Han was so engulfed in getting Luke back, that he nearly ran into the guard in front of him.  
The guard whipped up his weapon and fired a stun blast. Han called a "Look out!" at Leia, Jacen, and Tenel Ka even as he dived to side, narrowly missing getting hit. He slammed shoulder first into the wall, and kicked at the guard's feet. The guard gave a yelp and fell flat on his face with a crack. Han got to his feet and grabbed the gun, pointed, and fired, and the guard lay still, unconscious.  
He lowered his fighting stance and tossed the gun to Leia, who had just jogged up next to him. "Here," he said, "Give this to one of the kids. They need it more than you do. So, do these guys look familiar to you Leia?"  
She stared at the man's uniform for a minute and shook her head. "No. They could be part of the Sand Star's organization. Either that or Xizor's aesthetic sense is dulled. The uniforms his men wore were more elaborate, like stormtrooper armor."   
Han grunted at the thought. Goody, more idiots in plasteel.   
"Nice job Dad," Jacen said as he walked up behind them, "I never knew you could still fight like that."  
Han gave him a hurt look. "Well, how come you think I'm still a general? Sitting on my butt drinking namana nectar?"  
Tenel Ka spoke from beside Jacen. "Don't you think we should be going? The sooner we leave this place, the happier I'll be. It feels. . .wrong without the Force here. It is greatly disturbing."  
"I agree," Leia said, "Besides, we're likely to be found if we just sit here and talk over tea. We can plan strategy on the way."  
She started down the hall, the others close behind her. They walked quickly and quietly, the way Tenel Ka and Teneniel Djo had taught them. Still, in the perfect calmness of the hallway, every step sounded like thunder to Han. They rounded a corner into a larger, carpeted hall and ran to the next room.  
Han paused at the door, ready to fire his blaster. He looked around the corner and saw three guards at each of the two hallways that led from the other side of the room. He crouched down low and fired, neatly killing the nearest guard with one shot. Four of the remaining five pulled up their weapons and fired at the doorway Han, Leia, Jacen, and Tenel Ka were hidden behind. The fifth one was talking into a commlink on the far side of the room.  
Beside him, Leia quickly aimed her blaster at the guard yelling into the commlink and fired, missing at first, but firing in a quick second that caught him in the head. Jacen took out two near him, and Tenel Ka took out two with her lightsaber.  
Han raced to the commlink and turned it off. Then he ran and met everyone in the middle of the room.  
"Okay. There are gonna be a lot more guards down here in a few seconds. Jacen, Tenel Ka, take the right passage and go see if you can find this King guy or the comm-center and get a message off to Jaina and Lowie in the Falcon. Tell them we're in and expect to be out really soon. Leia, come with me and we'll go find Luke," he said.  
"Yes sir, general sir!" came Jacen's reply as he spun around and sprinted away.  
  
***  
  
The messenger quivered in front of Xizor's feet. "M-My Prince. There have been intruders s-sighted in the courtyard. They included Organa-Solo, Solo, Jacen Solo, and an unknown fourth. They. . .defeated our troopers. . .and split up down the corridors."  
Xizor's face remained unexspressional, though he was very pleased. Not just because the man in front of him reminded him that he had so much power over people, but that she had come. His prize had walked right into the leash he held out for her. He was extraordinarily happy, for his plan had worked.  
Perfectly.  
"Get up you weakling. I will not kill you today. You have brought me wonderful news! I will see that you are promoted to a chief advisor some time this month," he said, "But for now, go. Summon Surna and Guri. Tell them to move Skywalker into the vacuum cell on the Virago II and set up the laser trips. They know what to do from there."  
"Yes sir!" came the relived and enthusiastic response from the young messenger before he turned and marched down the hall.  
Xizor walked over and sat down in his new chair. He turned around to face the garden below the balcony and smiled. Yes, this would be his finest hour. He would possess both of Vader's children, one grandchild, and his victory would be complete. He had heard somewhere that revenge was sweeter than forgiveness. He most definitely agreed with that twisted philosopher, wherever he was now.  
  
***  
  
Luke was half asleep when he heard the lock gears on the door moving. He instantly jerked awake, moving himself into a crouch position. "King!" he called, and King stirred in his sleep.  
"King!"  
"Yeah, I'm up, I'm up," King said sleepily, followed with a mighty yawn.  
"The door's opening. Someone's coming in here, and unless it's Leia or Han, I don't want to know why," Luke said.  
The door slid back, and there stood a woman with light brown hair, a fair face, and a slim build. "Skywalker," she said, "You will come with me to Prince Xizor's ship without delay. Any resistance and I will be forced to hurt you and anyone that tries to stop me from completing my objectives."  
A shorter woman with blonde hair stood in the hallway behind the other woman. A woman that Luke recognized. Guri, the HRD, or Human Replica Droid. She was fast, deadly, and extremely easy to underestimate when you saw her. "You'll have to excuse Surna. She is a prototype HRD. Not nearly as sophisticated as I am, and certainly not capable of preforming many tasks as efficiently as I can," she said coolly, "But we have orders to bring you to the master's ship in as good a condition as we can. I have been known to skip parts of my orders, Skywalker. I suggest that you cooperate."  
Luke looked at King, and nodded. He hoped that King knew what he was talking about. He began counting down in his head. When he reached zero, King lunged at Surna, who took a shocked step back, faltered under King's added weight, and fell to the floor. Luke ran as well as he could towards the door, and dived under Guri's outstretched arm.  
He hit the floor with a thud and kept rolling. He flipped to his feet and tried to ignore the agony it sent through him. He ran forward, hoping to find some way past Guri, who was already in front of him. He leaped into the air over Guri's head and pulled himself into a tight spin. And fell on the floor face first when Guri grabbed his ankle.  
He heard King grunting with the effort of holding Surna down, and felt Guri's hands clasp around his shoulders before he could even get up off the ground. With a terrifying ease, Guri lifted him up and put him in a choke hold before turning to face King and Surna. "King, if you do not release Surna now, I will not hesitate to snap Skywalker's neck. You have three seconds to release her."  
King slowly stood up, his hands balled up in anger. "King!" Luke shouted, "Watch. . ."  
He couldn't get out the rest of his warning, because Guri's hold tightened and he couldn't breath. At that moment, Surna's foot connected with King's head, and he fell unconscious against the open doorway. "Surna, tell Prince Xizor that we are on our way to his ship," Guri said, and started dragging Luke down the hall, loosening her hold only slightly.  
Luke pulled on her arm, trying to get more air. He tripped and stumbled, his vision blurring, blacking at the edges. Oh man, is this a bad thing. Leia and Han are here, that's the only reason that I would be moved for. But if I'm on Xizor's ship, they'll never be able to find me. It might cost them their lives.  
They turned a corner, and a turbolift door opened in front of Guri. She tossed him in and he hit the wall on the far side of the turbolift. She stepped in after him and punched in a code on the panel. Luke barely saw that it was a code for the roof (he couldn't see much of anything at this point, due to lack of oxygen).  
The acceleration of the lift kept him from getting to his feet. With a sudden abrupt stop, Guri reached and grabbed his wrist, yanking him to his feet and out of the turbolift. He winced at the pain it sent through him, and flinched again as the ground beneath his feet suddenly bucked. Oh great. Not another blackout! he thought. But even as he thought this, Guri stumbled too. "What was that?" she demanded, "What did you do?"  
Puzzled, Luke just stared at her for a moment. "I didn't do anything. How could I?" he asked Guri.  
"I don't know! Maybe your friends are better than Prince Xizor thought," she said as they came to a ship.  
She keyed in an access code and a hatch slid quietly open next to her. "Inside, Skywalker. Don't try anything, you wouldn't win in a fight this time. Last time something like that happened you won. You won't win again."  
Luke walked inside ahead of her, and looked frantically around the cabin to find something, anything really, that would help him get out of where ever he was going. He didn't find anything.  
Guri closed the hatch and grabbed Luke's arm again. "Come with me," she demanded, yanking him after her.  
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Luke mumbled.  
Guri chuckled, short and sarcastically. "It's good to see that you haven't lost that sense of humor, Skywalker. Maybe I'll suggest that Xizor appoint you court jester, rather than slave," she said, pulling him down a hallway to a room in the back (or what Luke assumed was the back) of the ship, "But I wouldn't count on it."  
She shoved Luke into a small room with a thick transparisteel chamber. The chamber was long and tall, but narrow. It was connected to a large control panel on the side of the chamber, and Luke could see several tubes running through it.  
Guri punched in a code on the panel and the door/front of the chamber slid open. She said, "Go in there Skywalker. Back against the far wall, and don't try anything. This is half a decimeter thick, sound proof, and very, very hard to break. Xizor had me try, and I couldn't even scratch the stuff. You'll probably die before anything happens to it."  
"What a reassuring thought," Luke said quietly as he walked into the chamber.  
The door to the chamber slid shut and suddenly all Luke could hear was his own breathing. There was a small hiss of a pressure seal, and then that too fell silent. Luke could see Guri pick up two small devices and turn towards the door. She bent down and secured one of the devices to the edge of the door frame, high enough to catch a person in the thigh or knee if they walked through into the room. Then she fastened the other small device to the other side of the frame, opposite the other one. She pressed a button on each of them, and Luke saw a thin laser trip beam appear. Then Guri, apparently satisfied, got up, carefully avoided touching the beam, and left.  
Leaving Luke trapped, with no means of escape.  
Frustrated, Luke sat down on the floor of the chamber. He needed to find a way to warn Leia and Han, or whoever had come for him. Luke braced himself against the side of the chamber and pushed with as much strength as he could muster in his weakened state, trying to push the door open. The door never budged, not a millimeter. Luke sat back down, wondering how in the worlds he was going to get out of this.  
He wrapped his arms around his knees, and leaned against the cool transparisteel side of the chamber. Maybe he couldn't do anything to get out. All that meant was that he had to find a way to get word to someone. He carefully studied the vent that was near him. It was connected to the metal control panel, and there was a slight movement of an air current from it. From what Luke could discern, this was either some type of gas chamber of a vacuum cell.  
He pressed his ear against the grating and listened, straining his hearing to the limits of it's abilities. He could hear the soft whoosh of air moving and a small clicking sound once every few minutes. Nothing that could help him there.  
"Can anyone hear me?" he asked loudly into the air, hoping that someone, anyone or anything, would hear him and come in response to his plea.  
For a long time he sat there, watching and listening to see if there was any response to his call. When none came, he sighed and leaned his head back.  
A fleeting thought ran through his somewhat cloudy mind, jerking him out of his drowsy state. What had happened to King after Guri had taken him away? Had he merely been put back into the cell? Had he just been left there, or had they moved him too? Luke thought, Well, where ever he is, I hope he's in better shape than I am.  
  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Tenel Ka ran hard beside Jacen. They had turned into an "old looking" part of the fortress, and were amazed at seeing so many rooms crowded into one hallway.  
They stopped for a minute to catch their breaths and take a drink, still walking down the twisting hallway. "They must be isolation rooms if they're that small," Jacen said, "Do you think we should check them to see if Uncle Luke. . .er. . .Master Skywalker or that Mr. King is in one of them?"  
Tenel Ka looked at Jacen, opened her mouth to speak, and stopped. She had heard something, but what was it? Jacen began to repeat his question and she put a hand over his mouth to silence him.  
"Do you hear that? It sounds like someone's moaning," she said softly, "It's coming from around that corner. Walk softly, and stay close to the wall," she told Jacen, grabbing his hand and moving quickly but quietly down the corridor.  
They looked cautiously down the hall, and there in one of the doorjambs lay a man, only just barely conscious. "Come on, Tenel Ka. Let's go see who he is," Jacen urged.  
They walked over to the prone form and knelt next to it. "It's Mr. King!" Jacen said excitedly, "Maybe he can tell us what happened to Uncle Luke! Mr. King, Mr. King! Wake up! We need you to help us find my uncle."  
Slowly King stirred into consciousness. He sat up and blinked a few times before he registered that he was not alone. A look of surprise crossed his face, probably from not waking up alone, and at the fact that the persons he was waking up to were no more than teen-agers. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"I am Tenel Ka, and this is Jacen. Are you Mac King?"  
"Yeah, that's me."  
"Can you help us Mr. King?" Jacen blurted out, "I need to find my uncle, Luke Skywalker. Can you tell us where he is?"  
A look of recognition crossed King's face. "Jacen? Jacen Solo?" he said, "Luke told me all about you. He's very proud of all of you. Yes, I can help you. They took your uncle to Xizor's ship. We've got to help him. Tell me, is your mother here with your father?"  
"Yes, he is," Jacen said, helping King to his feet, "Why?"  
"Call them and tell them that Xizor is after Leia, and that your Uncle Luke is on Xizor's personal ship."  
Tenel Ka grabbed the commlink on her belt and keyed for Jacen's parents.  
  
***  
  
The commlink at Han's belt beeped and he snatched it from his belt. "Solo. What's up?"  
"Han," came Tenel Ka's voice, "Jacen and I have located the Mr. King that sent us the message about Master Skywalker. He is willing to help us in any way he can, and he is taking us to the comm center at the moment. He told me to tell you and Leia that Master Skywalker is being held on Xizor's personal ship. He doesn't know where it is, but we're on our way to find out."  
"Uh, good job you two. We're probably near the hangars now, you can smell them from here. Anything else?" Han replied.  
"Yes, Mr. King told us that Xizor is after Leia, and wouldn't mind if you just happened to be there. May I ask who Xizor is?"  
Han grimaced, finding out that he and Leia might be walking (or rather jogging) right into a trap that Xizor had set up for them. "Yeah, you can ask, but I'll have to tell you later. It's a long story, and I just found out myself before we left. I'm sure Jaina and Jacen will probably want to hear it too, so once everyone's out of here and we have Luke, I'll have Leia tell everybody," he said, "How close are you to the comm room Tenel Ka?"  
There was a slight pause as Tenel Ka asked King where they were. "We are coming up to them right now, and should be able to transmit to Jaina and Lowbacca shortly."  
Han whispered a silent thanks to no one in particular and turned again to his commlink. "Hey, Tenel Ka. Let me talk to King."  
He waited for a moment as Tenel Ka handed the commlink to King. "Han?"  
"Uh-huh. I need you to tell me the name of Xizor's ship King. We're pretty close to the hangars now. Are you sure that Luke is on his ship?" Han asked King.  
"Sorry," came the response, "I can't. I was unconscious when they said the name of the ship, if they said it at all."  
"Who are 'They'?"  
"Two Human Replica Droids. One Xizor's had for a long time, her name's Guri. The other one is a prototype that Xizor built, and Guri said that her name was Surna. Amazingly strong, both of them."  
"Okay, gotcha. Call if you need any thing or if you find Luke," Han said to King, and he switched off the commlink and jammed it back into his pocket, "Hey Leia, let's go find Xizor's ship and bust Luke out of this place. It gives me the creeps just being anywhere near a guy that's supposed to be dead."  
Leia looked at him as they were running, nodding her head as she spoke. "I don't blame you, Han. I just as spooked as you are, possibly even more so because I knew Xizor for a short time. I thought he was dead, just like Dash Rendar and everybody aboard that skyhook when Vader blew it to pieces. But now, I'm not even sure that Dash is dead, considering how Prince Xizor was. . .resurrected," she paused, gasping for breath, "I knew that Guri might still be out there, I knew that much from Luke. But never in my wildest nightmares had I ever imagined that Xizor had survived."  
They stopped, crouched by a doorway. Han's stomach was fluttery, something that hadn't happened to him in a very long time. It was a very disturbing feeling, and was usually followed by a not-so-great event. He hoped that his gut instinct was wrong about something, just for once.  
He peered around the corner, and saw that it was the hangar that he and Leia had been coming up to. There were at least fifteen ships, some new and at the top of the line, others that looked like they were headed for the scrap yards. There were a few kind of ships that he could recognize, a Z-95 Headhunter, a Skipray Blastboat or three, a really old X-wing, and a trooper transport that the Empire had used for a very long time. There were other ships he knew too, but just couldn't place the names of them.  
Everything was neat and orderly, nothing that he could see was out of place, except for a few things that were knocked off the walls when he and Leia had set off a chain reaction in one of the labs. But still, something felt. . .wrong. There were no guards to be seen, but it didn't mean that they weren't there. It bugged him, since they had encountered plenty of guards in every room so far. Why wouldn't there be any guards in the place were there should be the most? If King was correct, this was where Xizor was keeping Luke, and would be a perfect place to pick a ship and get safely away from the planet.  
Crouching next to him, Leia was clearly thinking about the same thing. She looked up at him and mouthed the word Ambush. He nodded and took out his blaster, which was already running low on the first power cell that he had given it.  
He walked in through the door, staying in a ready crouch position. He walked near the wall, Leia just behind him. She was so close that he could hear her almost steady breathing, the click as she turned off the safety on her blaster.  
Han kept his eyes and ears open for any movement and any sound. He and Leia were almost halfway around to the door on the other side of the room when Leia gasped.  
"That looks exactly the way Xizor's ship did when I knew him," she said, her voice tightly controlled, "A little newer I suppose, but I think we should check it out. It really does look like the Virago did, and that's the best guess I've got."  
Han looked at the ship and noticed that it was out nearly in the middle of the room. He grimaced but nodded anyway. "Yeah, sure. I see another ship over there that I want to check out. I've seen it somewhere before. I'll meet you back here in five minutes. If you're not here, I'll come looking."  
Leia hurried out to the other ship, and tried the hatch. It wasn't locked, and so she glanced one time in Han's direction, and went into the ship.  
  
Leia watched Han leave towards the other ship, and then cautiously moved into the ship. It was strange, being in a replica of Xizor's original ship. Although Leia despised the man (if you could call him that), she had to admire his designer abilities. The cabin of the ship was lavishly furnished, with many rare and expensive decorations to grace it's highly detailed sides.  
She moved out of the main cabin and into a hall to the back of the ship, straining her ears to hear the slightest sound. There were lots of rooms to look in, and she carefully inspected each one down the right side of the hall. When she reached the one at the end of the hall, she paused not really sure that she should go in here. But somewhere in her mind a voice cried, Go! Go in there, or you'll miss something important! You won't regret it! So she finally gave in and pushed the latch release.  
The door slid open and she hugged the wall. She carefully poked her head in the room and looked around.  
Suddenly her breath caught in her throat and she stared dumbfounded. There, sitting in a glass chamber. . .  
It was Luke.  
She rushed in through the door to the chamber. The movement must have caught Luke's eye, and he looked up, his eyes widening in surprise. His mouth formed her name as she ran up next to him, and knelt on the floor, putting her blaster down.  
"Luke, how do you get yourself into these messes?" she said jokingly, "I've got to find a way to. . ."  
The look of confusion in his eyes stopped her. "Luke, what is it?"  
He mouthed the words, I can't hear you, Leia.  
Leia's eyebrows knit themselves together, and then she suddenly understood. He wasn't mouthing the words, he was talking, but she couldn't hear him. He had said that he couldn't hear her either, so that meant that the transparisteel was sound proof. She frantically searched for an intercom, but the search turned up futile and useless.  
"Leia!"  
She jerked around, and listened, waiting, clutching her blaster.  
"Leia!! Where are you?"  
She smiled, knowing that it was Han, who had come looking for her. "In here, Han!" she called, "come to the last door in the hallway, you can't miss it!"  
Leia heard the rapid pounding of Han's footsteps as he jogged to the room she and Luke were in. She stood up and stood just inside of the doorway and said "Han, have I got a surprise for you. Follow me, and don't kill me when I show you what I found."  
Han gave her a questioning look and followed her into the room. It took him a moment to find Luke, and when he did, the look on his face made Luke break out into a huge smile, and Leia laughing. "Man, do I wish I had a holo-camera right now," Leia said after an outburst, "Come on, let's find a way to get him out of there. I hope you can hot-wire something like this."  
Leia sat on her heels next to the chamber, and put her hand up on the glass. Luke knelt like her, and put his hand up as if to touch hers, but he couldn't because of the transparisteel between them. Han stood beside her, already trying to hot-wire the thing.  
Luke's flat hand suddenly curled into a ball, and he looked down and shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Luke?" Leia asked, worried.  
"Leia, look at this gauge. It's dropping to zero, or at least heading in that direction. Got any clue what it's referring to?" Han said.  
"Luke?" Leia asked again, watching his shoulders rise and fall in a tremendous effort to breath.  
Luke looked up at Leia, and she immediately saw the fear in his eyes. "Han!" Leia shouted, "We've got to get him out of there!"   
Han looked at her quizzically.  
"Han, he can't breath!! It's a vac-chamber! That was the air meter you saw going down. Oh, Han! We've got to get him out!!" Leia shouted, horrified.  
"I've almost got it, give me another second! Try your lightsaber!" he told her.  
Leia fumbled at her belt, and removed the lightsaber that Luke had made for her. With a snap-hiss the yellowish blade of light sprang out. She slammed the lightsaber with all her strength against the side of the chamber above Luke.  
The force of the strike reverberated up her arms, jarring them so hard that she nearly dropped the lightsaber. "Hurry up with that hot-wiring. I hardly even scratched the stuff," she said softly.  
A sudden and unwanted thought blasted through her mind, What if I got here in time to see Luke, only that I wind up watching him die of suffocation? Luke had sagged even lower, and the air gauge was nearly at zero. She struck furiously at the chamber, denting it in places and ignoring the pain the blows sent through her. She felt a wetness on her cheeks and Luke collapsed to the floor of the chamber.  
"No!!" she shouted, "Don't you die on me Luke. Don't you die!"  
Han shouted into her ear, "I think I've got it."  
There was a sudden hiss in the room and the door to the chamber moved slightly, relaxing it's grip. The door slid to the side, and Leia turned off her lightsaber as she dropped to the floor.  
She caught Luke and he tumbled part way out of the chamber, and turned him over onto his back as she laid him on the floor. "Come on Luke, don't do this to me," she said as Han dropped to the floor opposite her, putting Luke between them.  
Han leaned over Luke, putting his hands on Luke's neck. "What are you doing?" Leia asked.  
"Making sure that he's not dead. I've got to see if I need to reenact Hoth, and get him breathing again or if he'll do it on his own," Han answered, "C'mon Luke, give me a sign here."  
When Luke gave no sign, no indication of anything, Leia began to worry. The deep fear that she had carried in her heart swelled to consume her every thought, and her every motion.  
Han had begun to help Luke breath, and fairly soon, he stopped, and waited. Luke lay there, and it seemed that Han had given up. "Han, why isn't anything happening? Why did you stop?" Leia asked.  
"I don't need to help him anymore. Look closely, hon. It's shallow, unsteady, and not very much air, but he's doing it. He's breathing on his own," Han answered softly.  
"Indeed he is," a voice answered from the doorway, "I congratulate you. I have never seen anyone hot-wire a vac-chamber in so little time before. And I have been alive for a very long time."  
Leia felt her heart stop for a moment in fear as she looked up into the doorway, and felt a rising rage that she could not control form within her. "Xizor," she breathed, her hand clenching around the lightsaber in her hand, "Why? Why did you do this to him?"  
Xizor, who had now entered the room and stood menacingly over her, Han, and Luke, simply smiled at her. "At last," he said, "the time has come."  
With that he pulled out a stun pistol and fired at Han before she could even react. He fell to the floor and Leia ignited her lightsaber, scarcely thinking about the fact that the Force was not here, and she would have a difficult time deflecting any stun blasts that came her way.  
Leia stood up and met Xizor's stony gaze as best as she could. "A pity," Xizor said, "That I had to do that to him. I really do admire his efforts, you know. But, I admire so much more about you, Leia. You are simply inticing to my every sense!"  
Leia eyed him suspiciously. "So? What are you suggesting?"  
"I suggest that if you come with me, peaceably of course and without doing anything stupid, I'll leave him here, and you, me and him," he pointed to Luke, "will simply vanish without a trace."  
Leia stood there, her heart pounding in her ears, considering her options. Take Xizor's deal, or fight your way out and take the chance that Luke or Han might not make it. I think not, so there's only one option left. "Fine," Leia said to Xizor, "If you leave Han here and I come with you, can you promise me that no harm will come to him, Jacen, or Tenel Ka?"  
"If you come, I can see that happening."  
Leia stood up straight and dropped her en guard position. She switched off her lightsaber and returned it to her belt. "I don't have much of a choice. You win, Xizor. Let Han and the kids go, and I'll come with you."  
  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
Leia sat in one of the rooms she had inspected on Xizor's ship, wondering if she had just condemned herself and Luke to a fate worse than death.  
After she had agreed to come with Xizor, Guri had come in and taken Han off the ship and left him in the hangar. She wanted so much for him to be here, but she didn't want him to suffer the torture of being in Xizor's overbearing presence. After she had, two of Xizor's servants had taken Luke to a different room, and Leia wished that she could be with him.   
They had taken off from Ferenga a few moments ago, and were on their way to a strange and dangerous planet called Arzid. Luke, Chewie, Ken (a Jedi Prince from the Lost City of the Jedi), Threepio, and Artoo had come here once before to look for a strange kind of mushroom to help cure Triclops, Ken's father and Emperor Palpatine's son. It had been an awful encounter, with Luke and Ken nearly being eaten by giant spiders called arachnors and then being captured by Kadann's stormtroopers.  
Besides all that, she was still unable to touch the Force.  
She found that most disturbing, not able to touch Luke's feelings and emotions, not being able to sense when Xizor or one of his HRD's were approaching. Not being able to fight well enough to save anyone, much less herself in a fire fight with her lightsaber, even if she still had it or Luke's with her.  
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the door chime rang and slid open, revealing Xizor standing in the doorway.   
"Xizor," Leia said with obvious contempt, "Arzid? Can't you do any better than this?"  
Prince Xizor, who was garbed in purple and gold robes, smiled and said, "I know. But it serves it's perpose rather well actually. Besides, I have a particular fascination with arachnors, and many of the other animals and plants on this planet."  
"Prince Xizor," Leia began, "I don't know if this will offend you in some way, and I certainly hope that it doesn't, but I need to see my brother. Considering how badly you maimed him at the fortress on Ferenga, and the effects of the vac-chamber, I just want to see that he's okay."  
He seemed to consider her request and said, "Very well. I'll see that it is arranged that you see your brother. I'll contact you when it is possible. But I will not allow you to see him until he is conscious and I have had a little. . .talk with him."  
Leia flooded with a white hot rage and a little bell went off in her head. "Don't you dare, Xizor!" she shouted, "By the Force, if you touch him I'll kill you!"  
"Don't worry little princess," Xizor said, "I won't."  
Then he left with a swirl of robes and the swish of silk. Leia sat fuming on her bed, her every being crying out that she needed to help Luke, before Xizor killed the both of them.  
  
Luke awoke just as the Virago II was coming out of hyperspace near Arzid. The room he was in was fairly small but well accommodated. There were guards by the door, one small and surly the other a medium build and skinny. Both were heavily armed and looked equipped with the best. For a moment, neither seemed to notice that he was awake, and so he tested the strength of the bonds holding him to the exam table where he lay. They were strong, and so tight that he could barely move at all. Both guards snapped to attention as the door opened, and Luke craned his neck to see who was coming in.  
Prince Xizor strode into the room and it too took him a moment to notice that Luke was awake. "Ah, Skywalker. Glad to see you awake. We'll be landing shortly, and I certainly hope that you'll accompany me off the ship."  
"Accompany you?" Luke said sarcastically, "I'd never dream of turning down such an offer."  
Xizor snorted at Luke's comment, and motioned for the guards to leave. As soon as the guards were gone and the door sealed shut and locked, he pulled up a chair next to Luke. "You have no idea why I hate you so much, do you, Skywalker?"  
Luke looked at him quizzically, wondering where this was leading to. "No," he answered warily, "I have no idea what-so-ever. Care to tell me?"  
"I don't see why I shouldn't. For the most part, I hate you because of your father and your bloodline. Vader destroyed my family, my home, my homeworld. Every one of my friends and family perished when he let loose the plague on our society, which was nearly at the point of perfection. Every part of me detests you because of him.  
"Secondly, because of what you are. Jedi have cursed this galaxy for as long as I can remember, be their numbers a thousand or two. When the Empire supposedly ridded the galaxy of your kind, I was happy, or very near to. But Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi just happened to survive long enough to train another, namely you. Jedi murdered many of my family that were assassins, ganglords, and petty criminals. But not me. I will never be destroyed by a Jedi, an apprentice of one, or a descendant. You are the one bringing back the Order of the Jedi Knights, and that is another reason that I hate you and everything that you stand for."  
Luke was appalled at such farfetched reasons for hating him in particular, and said nothing for a long time. "Xizor, those reasons are. . .ridiculous! I, for one am nothing like my father, and it's not my fault that your family was obsessed with crime and got punished for it! Besides, if you wanted nothing to do with Vader, then how come you're so interested in winning over my sister, who was just as connected to Vader as I was?"  
Xizor startled, as if he had not even thought about that. "Now I have another reason to hate you," he said as he stood to leave, "You're always so annoying, because if there can be a wrong in what I say, you'll find it. I'll return when we have landed, and after I am through with you, I will take you to see your sister."  
He left, and Luke relaxed as much as his mind would allow. What did Xizor mean to "accompany him" and "after I am through with you"? Luke realized that he really didn't want to know what was going to happen to him once Xizor got his hands on him. Luke could still clearly feel the pain of Xizor's last attack, even after King had administered the heavy duty painkiller to Luke. It pained Luke to breath, his ribs undoubtedly fractured or broken, and it hurt to move, even the tiniest bit. His head throbbed from the multiple concussions he had received from Xizor, King, and possibly from Zang. His vision sometimes blurred, spun, and things tried to clone themselves for him. Definitely concussion territory.  
He sighed and then winced and a sharp spike of pain ran down his side. He could feel the mild turbulence as the ship went through Arzid's atmosphere. They were almost there, and so Luke laid still conserving his energy for whatever was to come.  
  
***  
  
King had just gotten the message center up and working when Han Solo stumbled into the comm-center. "Hi, Han. We're almost ready to transmit to the Millennium Falcon. We had a short fight with some workers in here and busted up the comm-board pretty bad," King said.  
"Xizor's got Luke and Leia," Han blurted out, "We've got to go get them."  
Jacen looked up from his work, and stared at Han for a minute, eyes wide with disbelief. "What?!" he cried, "Dad, please say that that green guy doesn't have Mom now too?"  
Solo turned to his son and put a reassuring hand on Jacen's shoulder. "I wish I could," he said, and Jacen looked on the verge of tears.  
Tenel Ka, who had been listening to the whole conversation with out a word, surprised King by going over to Jacen and kneeling next to him, saying things so softly that King could not hear them. King had never even thought of the two young Jedi as lovers, but by the way they embraced each other he could tell.  
He took a somewhat shaken looking Han aside and spoke softly to him. "Do you want to make the transmission now or should I or Tenel Ka do it? Jacen looks way too shaken to do anything. How long have those two been together? They seem to know each other pretty well," he said, "What happened up there?"  
It took Han a moment to comprehend all of the questions asked, but he finally said, "I'll make the call to Jaina and Lowie on the Falcon. Those two? I really don't know how long they've been like this, but I suspect that for maybe half a week or so. But they've known each other for years and been through so much stuff together, I don't know how long this has been building up. As to what happened in the hangar, I'll tell you when we're on our way."  
He sat down at the control board and flipped some switches to match the Falcon's comm-link. There was a whine and then a click as the Falcon picked up. "Jaina here, what's up?"  
"Jaina," Han said, "Where are you? You aren't showing up on any of the radars here."  
"We're up in orbit Dad. We thought that it might be a good idea to follow any of the ships that came out of the fortress and made a run for hyperspace, so we followed a ship up here and picked up it's hyperspace coordinates."  
"Good work Jaina and Lowie! We need a taxi down here, for four. Care to give us a lift hon?"  
"Sure thing Dad," Jaina said, "We'll pick you and whoever you're bringing with you on top of the fortress in ten minutes."  
  
Good as her word, Jaina landed on the roof in ten minutes. Han, ready and eager to leave, ran up the hatch as soon as the thing opened enough for him to fit through, with Jacen, Tenel Ka and King following. He shooed Jaina out of the pilot's seat and set the controls for a fast lift-off.  
The Falcon lifted up fast with a shake, and rocketed towards the void of space. "Jaina, punch in the coordinates you tracked from that ship. As soon as we clear the planet's grav pattern, we're going into hyperspace," he said.  
Jaina moved behind him to set the coordinates, and soon said, "All set, Dad. Ready when you are."  
"Better strap in then, 'cause here we go!" Han said as the Falcon blasted into hyperspace.  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
Xizor's ship settled on an old imperial post on Arzid. There were no cities on this planet, just nature and a few deserted posts.  
Something in the air made Xizor's sinuses burn a little, but he took a satisfaction in that pain. He was so close to achieving an ultimate victory, he could taste it. Now that he had the Chief of State of the New Republic, and the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, nothing in the New Republic could stop him unless they didn't care what happened to either of them.  
Xizor supposed that he could have gained more control with Solo and his family, but he had made a deal with Leia Organa Solo that he would leave them at the fortress on Ferenga. He didn't, above all, want to compromise any trust that she had entrusted in him.  
He walked down the ramp of his ship and looked at the strange mushroom forests that grew on Arzid. Guri, who stood poised at his shoulder, took no notice of the sigh that slipped through his lips.  
"Guri," he said, turning to look at the HRD, "Take Surna and escort Skywalker from the ship. Bring him down to ground level, and I will await you there. Whatever you do, do not let him see Organa Solo. Something tells me that if those two are left together now, it will mean disaster for us all."  
Guri nodded curtly and left, leaving Xizor free to inspect the quarters he had hired a well known designer to furnish for Leia.  
He walked into the stone building, and was pleased to see that everything was clean and almost homey. The hard floors had been carpeted with a thin royal blue carpeting, that complemented all of the green, blue, and purple decorations on the grey walls in the hallway. Warm light blue lights, hidden from view behind an overhang, gave the place a pleasant looking touch, and Xizor knew that he had chosen his designers and decorators wisely.  
He continued to walk down the hallway, and to the rooms where he thought held the best views of the surrounding lands and ponds. These were the four rooms he had chosen for Leia, all different with different themes behind each room. As he entered the first room on his left, he was awed at the spectacular arrangement of colors, decor, and furniture.   
The room was decorated with blues, golds, silvers, purples, blacks, and the occasional splash of green. The iridescent walls held back a thin layer of bubbling water, which sparkled with different intensities of blues, highlighted with green lights. Black tables inlaid with silver made for a spectacular display, and floral arrangements of the highest quality could been seen sitting upon them.  
This room was much like the hall, made to soothe and calm, to relax one's mind. There were all of the conveniences that one might need in this room, from kitchens to excersize equipment, from a spa to a dance floor. Bedrooms and other such necessities were hidden in other sections of the room which Xizor could not see.  
He inspected the other room sets with the same open wonder as he had the first, and each one pleased him just as greatly. There was green and white room that particularly pleased him, and he decided that he may move into this room himself, because it reminded him of his homeworld, which had been quarantined after the great plague. There were many exotic plants in this room, and the air smelled sweet and alive.   
Prince Xizor sighed and left the room he had just inspected, and went to the turbolift to take him to the lower levels of the imperial post. The turbolift quickly carried him to the ground level of the post, and he stepped out to await Guri and Skywalker.   
  
***  
  
Leia had felt the landing, and waited for someone to come get her. When no one came, she walked to the door, and keyed it to open. She very much expected to find it locked, and she jumped slightly when it opened. "Well," she murmured, "I guess since I came here on my own, I shouldn't expect to be treated as a prisoner as much as I thought."  
She stepped out into the corridor, and peered cautiously around the corner. If she was to escape, and help Luke at the same time, she would need her lightsaber, and Luke might want his. She walked down the hall and looked into every room she came across. For the first ten times, she had no luck. Then in the next room, she found what she had seeked. Her lightsaber, right next to Luke's.  
She picked hers up and looked at it, making sure that no one had tampered with it. When it passed her quick inspection, she put it down and examined Luke's. It checked out okay too, and so she fastened it to her belt, picked up her lightsaber and left the room.  
A few minutes later, she heard voices and flattened herself against the wall inside a doorway, and listened.  
". . .No, Surna. I don't know why he wants Skywalker or his sister, but I don't question his orders, just as you should not. Prince Xizor told us to fetch Skywalker and bring him to the command post. That is what we are going to do. Now, help me secure Skywalker, or I will have words with you outside."  
That had to be Guri. Leia remembered that voice, from all those years ago. She heard a soft acknowledgment, and the opening of a door, just down the wall from her. She strained to hear Luke's voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying.  
Jitters floated in her stomach, but she didn't let them deter her. She walked to the open door frame and slowly glanced around it's frame. Guri's back was turned to her, and was the other woman's. Luke saw her, and nodded just barely enough for her to see. As far as Leia could tell , no one else had seen it.  
"Surna," Guri said, "Take those binders and secure Skywalker's hands behind his back. Unless you don't think you can manage it, in which case I will do it."  
Leia held back a snicker at Guri's rude comment. She held her lightsaber and nodded back at Luke, who sat unrestrained on an exam table. She mouthed silently at him On three. One. . .two. . ."Three!" she yelled, igniting her lightsaber and charging at Guri.  
Luke lunged at Surna's legs, toppling her to the floor with a grunt of pain or exertion, Leia couldn't tell which. Leia swing at Guri, and cut her cleanly in half. Guri's top half fell to the floor with a satisfying clang, but continued to function.  
Leia leaped over the droid the fallen HRD and went to help Luke with Surna. He pushed off of her as Leia cut through her arm, surprised to find wires there. She swung again, and cleaved off Surna's head, leaving a hunk of useless scrap and components. "Thanks, Leia." Luke said, as Leia helped him to his feet.  
Guri's still partly functioning body crawled toward them, and Leia used her lightsaber to take off an arm. The HRD stopped and seemed to shut down, and Leia took Luke's lightsaber off her belt. "Here," she said to him, "You might need this. Wow, you look like. . ."  
Luke smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I feel like. What are you doing here?"  
Leia looked into his bruised and cut face, and said, "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to leave. We've got to get away from Xizor."  
"What about Han?"  
Leia was confused for a second and then remembered that he had been unconscious when she had struck the deal with Xizor. "He's not here," she said, walking out the door, "He's still on Ferenga with Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, Lowie and King. At least I think he is. But I know that he's not on this ship."  
Luke looked at her quizzically and followed her out of the ship, out to the hills of the planet. His eyes widened with recognition. "Arzid?"  
Leia nodded and said, "Do you know if there's any other way off this planet than through there?" she asked, pointing at the imperial post.  
Luke looked hesitant to answer, and then he said, "No, I don't think so. But then again, I've only been here once, and for a very limited time. But I'll hazard a guess that if we get further away from the ship and that post, we'll be able to tell through the Force. And frankly, I can't wait to be able to use the Force again."  
"So true," Leia agreed, "And I've only been without it for a few short hours, while you've been without it for days. Let's go over there, into that forest. We can decide what we're going to do."  
So Leia helped a limping Luke up a huge hill to the forest. "How long do you think we've got before Xizor notices that we're gone?" she asked, "And how far do you think you can go before you just collapse?"  
Luke looked at her, with a kind of smile that reminded her of that sandy-haired kid who had blasted his way into the detention block on the Death Star saying, Oh, er. . .I'm Luke Skywalker. . .   
But so much had happened since then. She found out that Luke was her brother, Vader was her father, she had married Han, and had three kids, two of which were nearly Jedi already.  
Luke shook his head, "I'm not really sure, Leia. I think we've got at most a standard hour, probably not even half of that, but don't worry about me. I can use the Force to help me," he said, "that is if I don't wind up falling into an involuntary healing trance. I can't guarantee that I wont. I don't know how much damage Xizor did to me. I'll go as far as I can, but I'll tell you if I need to rest. It's not just that either, I have nearly no energy left."  
Shocked, her brother usually had more energy that she could ever hope of having. "What?" she asked, "You? No energy? That's hard to believe. Didn't you get to eat anything? Didn't King bring you something?"  
"No, I didn't. We are talking about Xizor, and he would rather starve me do death than take the time to open the door. Don't blame King either. He was locked up with me for most of the time."  
Leia nodded, disconcerted at the fact that her brother was as weak as he was. But at least they were going to be away from Xizor, and the ysalamiri.  
After a few minutes, she felt Luke sigh and looked at him, puzzled. Then she felt it too. The Force had returned, and it was like getting your sight back after being blind. "Wow," she said, "I never realized how much I used the Force until now. How can you possibly deal with it, not having the Force for so long?"  
"I'm not sure. Although, I must admit, I've been kind of unconscious for a lot of the time I was gone. I never really got a chance to think about it."  
They trudged up the steep hill with as much speed as they could muster. Several times, Luke slipped and nearly fell to the bottom again, and Leia had her share of slips too.  
But soon, they reached the top of the hill and started their way into one of the many mushroom forests on Arzid.   
"Watch out for webs Leia," Luke said, "They can be anywhere, on the ground, on the mushrooms. If you do get caught in one, try not to move. The more you do, the more tangled you'll become, and more susceptible to arachnor attacks.  
"Try to stay away from as many bushes as you can too. There are bushes that will grab your leg or ankle if you get to close to them." he explained.  
"How will I know which are the bushes that do that?" Leia asked.  
Luke pointed at a pair of bushes to his left. "See those? Those are the kind, you can identify them from the little tentacles you see poking out from underneath them."  
Leia looked at the bushes. They were a dark green, with waxy leaves, and it gave off a weird odor. She looked closer at the bottom of the plant and she did indeed see the slowly moving tendrils below the leaves. "And once they have a hold on you, it's tough to get them off," Luke said.  
After they had been walking for awhile, Luke slipped his arm off of Leia's supporting shoulder. Leia could feel him drawing off the Force, drawing a tremendous amount of energy from it.   
"Will you be okay Luke?" Leia asked her brother, "You look kind of pale, behind all the bruises and everything."  
"I'm not sure. But listen through the Force, Leia. What do you feel when you do?" he said.  
Leia closed her eyes and relaxed, scanning all around her. She felt nothing out of the ordinary, until the wave hit her. It was a sense of approaching danger, not so distant and definitely threatening. But she couldn't tell which way it was coming from, or even what it was.  
"A sense of danger. . .but I don't know where it's coming from. All I can tell is that, whatever it is, it's close," she said, opening her eyes and looking at Luke, "Is that what you feel too?"  
"I think so. Do you want to stop and wait or forge ahead?" he replied.  
"I'll take going ahead. Who knows, maybe we'll outrun whatever it is that we sense. Maybe it'll pass us by. Besides, if it's Xizor that's chasing us, we might get far enough away to discourage him."  
They started down a hill, and suddenly, Leia felt herself slipping. She tried to regain her balance, but try as she might, she could not. "Luke!" she called, and then, just as he caught her wrist, she fell away, sliding down the hill.  
She tumbled head over heels, and rolled down the hill, hitting little mushrooms, bushes, and some small rocks. She was nearly at the bottom when she felt herself stop with a suddenness that surprised her. She exhaled, a sigh of relief, and thought that Luke might have stopped her with the Force. No, Leia. Luke's voice came in her head, I didn't do anything. You're caught in a web. Whatever you do, don't move! I'll be there in a second.  
Leia moved her head to confirm that Luke was right. She was indeed stuck in an arachnor's web, and when she moved her head back to see Luke working his way cautiously down the hill, she found that it was very hard to. Web was caught in her hair, making it difficult to move her head. She moved a free hand to brush it out, but found that her hand and arm had become entangled also. It was getting hard for her to move at all.  
She suddenly heard a hiss behind her. She froze, not hardly daring to breathe. She stretched out with the Force to discover what was behind her. The Force sense was not something she had felt before, but she knew. It was an arachnor.  
"Luke!!" she cried, "I need some help, and I need it fast. There's an arachnor behind me, and I don't think it wants to talk!"  
Luke, who was halfway down the hill, looked at her, disbelieving. But he obviously felt the horror in her Force sense and came as fast as he could down the hill, yanking his lightsaber free at the same time and igniting it. "Don't move!" he yelled.  
Then he hurled the lightsaber in the arachnor's direction, and used the Force to tap it, so it flew directly at the giant spider.  
It hit the arachnor in the abdomen, and Leia heard the thing scream in pain. Luke was next to her now, scidding to a halt. He held out his hand and the lightsaber lept from the arachnor's body to his hand. He used to cut away much of the web around Leia before the arachnor, wounded and in pain, charged at him.  
He turned, ready with his lightsaber in front of him. As the thing leapt at Luke he sidestepped and cut to the side. He sliced off two of the thing's legs, and the arachnor teetered away, screaming in pain. Luke cut, but missed, and the arachnor knocked him to the ground, spinning it's web at the time.   
The web landed on Luke's back, shoulders and arms, just barely missing his legs. Leia watched, horrified, as the arachnor held Luke to the ground, avoiding all of the slashes that Luke made with his lightsaber. Luke somehow managed to move from underneath the jaws, and slashed through them in one easy stroke. He slashed vainly at the arachnor, cutting off legs and gouging cuts in the thing's sides.  
Finally, the arachnor keeled over, falling to the ground with an enormous thud. Luke collapsed to the ground, covered in sticky web, and panting with exhaustion. Leia sighed, a great sigh of relief, and closed her eyes. Luke's emotions came through the Force as clearly as ever, in pain, but genuinely relieved. The lightsaber still gleamed in his hand, making the near-by web turn a shade of green. "Luke, are you okay?" she asked.  
"Yes, I think so. I never knew arachnors were so heavy! I tried to lift it with the Force, and I could hardly move it," he said, trying to move enough to cut the web off him, "Leia, can you move at all?"  
Puzzled, Leia opened her eyes. Luke was half stuck to the ground, half held suspended between two giant mushrooms. "Am I having the strangest sense if deja vu! I feel like I've done this before," he said smiling at her, "I can hardly move at all. Can you reach your lightsaber?"  
Indeed, Luke's arms were pinned to his sides, strands of web keeping his head from moving to one side, his one leg was bent, glued to the other half of his leg and pinned to the ground, his other leg was close to his chest, held in place to his torso and the ground. One of his arms, Leia guessed that it was the right one, was plastered to his leg, unable to move. His other arm was only halfway free, leaving little room for him to move. The sight was so funny, it made Leia laugh out loud. Luke joined in, a relief of tension and stress. "I think so," Leia said after she had somewhat stopped, "Do you sense any more arachnors before I do though?"  
Luke closed his eyes and concentrated, scanning the area for any further danger. "No," he said, opening his eyes, "Go ahead and try Leia."  
Leia reached for her lightsaber, slowly and cautiously, and was halfway there before she couldn't move her arm anymore. She frowned at the web constricting her movement and tried the other arm, which fared no better. She pulled at the web, stretching it to it's limits. She still couldn't reach.  
"Sorry," she said, "No can do. Can you lift it with the Force? I'm not sure that I want to try."  
"Sure."   
Luke closed his eyes and concentrated in the Force. Leia felt the lightsaber stir at her belt, moving slowly and persistently, unhooking. Finally, it worked it's way free and held up in front of her. She pulled her arm forward and grasped it. "Thanks Luke," she said, "I don't know what I'd do without you."  
He opened his eyes and breathed deeply, letting go of the lightsaber. She ignited it, it's bright beam casting faint shadows. She cut away the annoying webs, and stepped away from the mushrooms. Then she walked over to Luke. He held his lightsaber in his hand, unignitied by ready at a moments notice. "I need to buy one of those portable holo-cameras. Every time I go somewhere with you or Han or the kids, I always miss the funniest pictures," she said kneeling beside him and cutting a few strands of web away from him.  
After nearly ten minutes, he could stand and move again. "Thanks," he said.  
Leia started to move, but Luke grabbed her arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.  
Leia looked at him, not really sure what he meant. "W-What do you mean?" she asked, not really feeling very well.  
"I just got a flicker of emotion from you. I'm not really sure what type it was, but I know that it wasn't a good one. Are you okay?" he repeated.  
"I'm not really sure. I just don't feel very well, probably. It's just stress that's doing it, okay?" she said, "But that emotion you felt wasn't coming from me. Are you okay? You look a little pale."  
Luke looked at her. "What do you mean, I look pale?"  
Leia noticed that her brother's face had been getting whiter in the past few minutes, and it really concerned her. "You're pale. Your face is nearly chalk white," she said, touching her hand to his face, and pulling suddenly back, "You're burning up, Luke! The medicine that King gave you is wearing off I guess. For all I know, you might be going into shock."  
Now Luke was the one to look surprised. "Shock?"  
"Yes, Luke." Leia said, "You aren't invincible. There are still things beyond your ability to control, and shock may be one of them. Remember how you told me about the Eye of Palpatine, and how you were on that? That was completely beyond your control also. Shock is a normal thing for a person in your. . .condition."  
"Yes, but still, don't you think I would have noticed?"  
Leia sighed, not really convinced that he was as well as he thought that he was. Now she wasn't feeling very well, and it wouldn't help if she had to wind up carrying Luke if he passed out. She started walking away, and Luke followed, apparently a little rattled. Leia was looking for a place to rest, where she and Luke would be safe for the rapidly approaching night. She was waking up a steep hill, having a little trouble getting her footing. She almost slipped down again, but Luke caught her waist and helped her regain her balance. She thanked him silently through the Force.   
They reached the top of the hill, and Leia was very tired, not something she was accustomed to. She wondered if that was from having been a diplomat for so long, or if she was just tired from being ill. Her head swam and her perceptions were off. She staggered forward a few steps, and her vision was blacking. "Luke," she called, "Help. . . . .me."  
Suddenly the world tilted, and she fell into blackness.  
  
Luke span around as he sensed Leia's distress through the Force. Something was definitely wrong, and her saw her as she fell. He sprang forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. "Leia," he said, as he turned her over against his leg.  
She didn't move, didn't respond in any way. He probed her with the Force, and only the buzz of her unconscious mind. What had caused this? She had seemed fine a little while ago. He couldn't figure out what had caused her to faint, it certainly wasn't fatigue. She wasn't that out of shape, and nothing had bitten her that he could tell.  
He looked around, looking for any shelter, with none to be seen in his line of sight. Why this? he thought Why now? I don't have the energy to carry her all the way, and I can't leave her here.   
So he picked her up, and started moving, hoping to stumble onto a good shelter. Luke was exhausted, and he nearly tripped and dropped her several times. Yes, Leia had probably been right about the shock, when it had just been setting in. Now, as he sat down, trembling, to rest, he could tell that he needed help, and he was going to need it soon.   
It was already bad enough that he was as crippled as he was, but now he was really beginning to feel the extent of that damage as the patch wore off. It was excruciating to breath, and to move. The Jedi healing trance beckoned, and it was hard not to fall into it. He leaned back against the mushroom they were under, and closed his eyes.   
He looked down at Leia, and put his hand on her forehead to probe her again. Still unconscious, Luke felt no emotions from her. It was disturbing. How could he call for help, with no equipment, and Leia unconscious next to him? Who could he call through the Force? He supposed that he could always call the twins, or any other of his Jedi trainees, like Kam Soulsar, Kyp Durron, Tionne, Cilghal, Kirana Ti, or Streen. But, how could they help him? In his weakened state, Luke was not even sure that he had enough energy to accomplish the task. If he did get out the call, who would pick it up? Kyp, who was the most powerful of the new Jedi so far, probably would, but he could be halfway across the galaxy and never get here in time.   
But the big question was, could he do it at all? Could he leave himself and Leia unguarded for so long? It would take all of his concentration to call, and use up all of his energy. He didn't know.  
Luke stayed awake by sheer force of will, ignoring the demands of the healing trance, turning away the beckon for sleep.  
Unconsciously, his mind called out weakly through the Force, Help us. Can anyone hear me?! Help us!  
He didn't even realize that he'd done it until he was finished. He hoped that it was enough, and that someone had heard, for he could stay awake no longer. His eyes closed, and he moved into an uneasy sleep. But unknown to him, someone did hear his cry, someone who knew him very well, and was already running to their ship.  
  
***  
  
Xizor waited the arrival of Guri and Skywalker. When nearly half an hour had passed, he knew that something was wrong. He stalked to his ship, and walked up it's open hatch. He hurried to Skywalker's chamber.  
The sight that assaulted him was so shocking that he could not keep it from off his face. Guri, his nine million credit HRD was cut into pieces, Surna was decapitated. Anger boiled up to match his surprise, white hot and unquenchable. He moved over to Guri, and was amazed to find that she was still partly functioning. "M-Master. . .zzt. . .  
. . .Organa-Solo and Skywalker e-escaped. Didn't. . .kklk. . .didn't even get a chance to-to fight b-back," she stuttered, and shut off.  
Skywalker and Organa-Solo had escaped?  
Xizor ran from the room, and to the comm-room. He immediately summoned all of his land based scouts and forces to look for Skywalker and his sister. They mustn't escape him, not now, after his plan had gone so perfectly!  
"All forces, group at once in the war room!" Xizor yelled, "Come prepared to march as soon as you arrive and receive your instructions! Move it!"  
He slammed down the mike and stalked down to his hover transport. He was glad he had put the sleeping macro-virus in Leia Organa-Solo's room. It should be taking effect now, if it hadn't already put her down-for-the-count. Without her, Skywalker wouldn't be able to get very far, but if he could, she would slow him down considerably. Knowing Skywalker, Xizor knew that once Organa-Solo passed out, Skywalker would carry her to where ever he was trying to go. It would use up all of his energy, and weaken him so much that fatigue would take him down also, making both helpless.  
Xizor smiled and knew that he was right. He would win this one, no matter what anyone else did to prevent it.  
He moved into the war room and looked at the troops that had gathered. He had trained his men well, and nearly every seat was filled, an indication that nearly everyone was here. In the next five minutes, the room was completely full, and he gave out orders.  
"Two very important prisoners have escaped. They have to be somewhere near, for I sent Guri and Surna to fetch one of them just over half an hour ago.  
"One is a male, small, but a very good fighter. He is a Jedi, and do not underestimate him! Although he may seem crippled and weak to the eye, his mind is his weapon. The other prisoner is a woman, slightly shorter than the Jedi. She will not be a problem to secure, for if she isn't unconscious already she will be shortly from a sleeping organism that I placed in her room. She is also part Jedi, so be warned. I suspect that they will be together, and you can use her as a hostage to get the Jedi to surrender.  
"Find them! Use whatever means necessary, but do not kill them!! Do not harm the female prisoner. If the Jedi gives you any trouble feel free to rough him up a little. But not too much. After you have found and controlled them, contact the rest of the groups and bring them to me.  
"Dismissed!!" he shouted.  
He watched the troopers file out quickly and quietly. He leaped into his hover-car and turned out to the forests. Below him, he could hear his troopers marching in a search line. Scattered but within earshot, his forces made an inescapable web.  
A web in which his prey would be caught. And a web in which they would never leave.  
  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
As the Millennium Falcon moved out of hyperspace, Jaina distinctly heard Luke's cry from the planet below them.  
At first, she wasn't really sure that it was Uncle Luke. It was so weak, and Jaina knew that her uncle was the strongest Jedi in the galaxy. Why wouldn't it be louder?  
She walked to the crew room, and Jacen and Tenel Ka looked at her as she came through the door. Lowie, who was in the cockpit with her dad, came out next to her. "Did you hear that, Jaina?" Jacen asked, "It sounded like Uncle Luke, but it was so. . ."  
"Weak?" Jaina ended, "Yeah, I heard it. I guess we all did. Uncle Luke must be exhausted if it's that weak."  
Tenel Ka nodded her braided head. "We need to help Master Skywalker," she said rising to her feet to join the rest of group, who was already standing.  
Han Solo came out of the cockpit, and said, "Hey, what's everybody doing back here?"  
Jaina answered. "We heard Uncle Luke, Dad. It was a very weak call for help through the Force. At first, I wasn't even sure that it was him. He needs help."  
Han seemed taken aback. "Luke? You heard Luke?"  
All four of the young Jedi Knights nodded.  
"Could you tell where on the planet he was?"  
Jaina looked at Jacen, then at Tenel Ka, then at Lowie. She got the same sad shake from all of them. "No, Dad," Jacen said, "But we think that he's on the other side of the planet. That's as close as we can pinpoint it."  
Han groaned. "Half a planet. Wonderful. Well, I suppose it's a start. I'll take the Falcon around to the other side. It'll take some time though. Maybe half an hour. Jaina want to help?"  
Thrilled, Jaina said, "Sure thing Dad. Can I pilot?"  
Han laughed. "I guess. Why don't the rest of you use the Force and try to find any blank spots on the planet."  
Then he left and Jaina followed at his heels. She was excited about getting to pilot the ship, something she always loved to do. She plunked down in the co-pilot's seat where Chewie usually sat. It was huge and tailored to Wookiee standards, but it was comfortable, and it reminded her of all the good times she had spent with the ginger furred wookiee.  
Jaina pulled the controls to put the Falcon in orbit. It flew around the planet, and nearly half an hour later was on the other side. "I'm not picking up any signals from the planet," Han said, "I the scanner can only find one post. You pick up anything else Jaina?"  
"Not on the scanner, no. Let me scan through the Force," she said closing her eyes and searching through the Force, "Hmm. That post is where we're headed Dad. It's completely blocked from the Force."  
"Okay. Post it is. Set course and maintain radio silence."  
Jaina started. "You're letting me take the Falcon down?"  
"Yep. Do you want to?"  
"Of course I do. I just wasn't expecting it."  
So Jaina laid a course to put them down a few kilometers to the north of the post. She felt the ship move to follow it, and released the controls.  
"Why did you set so far from the post?" Han asked.  
Jaina shrugged. "I don't know. Call it intuition, call it a guess. There's just something about that spot that draws me there. Maybe it's the Force."  
"Well, I think you might be right. Why don't you go tell your brother to wake up King. He'll want to be awake and ready to move when we land," Han said.  
So Jaina relinquished the controls to her father and went into the back of the ship. She found Jacen playing chess against Lowie. "Hey, Jaina," he said when he saw her.  
"Dad wants you to wake King up. We'll be landing pretty soon, and he wants King to be ready." Jaina said.  
"Sure thing," Jacen said, "Are you and Lowie staying on the Falcon again?"  
Jaina thought for a moment. "Probably. Unless you want to go with Jacen and Tenel Ka, Lowie."  
Lowie shook his head vigorously from side to side, growling a reply. From his belt, Em Teedee translated. "Master Lowbacca expresses that he would much rather pilot the Millennium Falcon with Mistress Jaina."  
Lowie growled at the little droid. "Well," Em Teedee said, "I know that's not exactly what you said, but it is what you implied. After all, I'm only a translator droid and merely making you sound more sophisticated. I do not see what you think is wrong with that."  
"Well, I guess that settles that. I'd better get back to the cockpit. See ya later guys," Jaina said.  
  
***  
  
Deep in sleep, Luke dimly felt the sense of impending danger through the Force. It tugged at the edge of his consciousness, demanding that he wake up.  
Luke struggled awake, and he heard the distant sounds of people shouting orders. Great, he thought. He moved to kneel next to Leia, who was still unconscious. For a brief second he put his arm around his ribs, which hurt worse than they ever had. A fleeting though crossed his mind and wondered what this was going to do to him physically, and he picked Leia up. The effort sent spasms shooting through his ribs and back, so painful that he nearly dropped her. He stumbled forward a few steps to regain his balance.  
Carefully, he worked his way through the forest of mushrooms. He put Leia down behind a mushroom and unhooked his lightsaber, not igniting it but keeping it at hand. He felt that his pursuers were very close, and he could hear them plainly. "I don't know how Xizor expects us to find two little people with all of this ground to cover. That I can imagine doing, but taking down a Jedi! He's got to be joking!" he heard one voice say.  
"Hush up," he heard another say, "Don't question Xizor's orders. Although, I do happen to agree with you. Did you notice that in the briefing he gave us he carefully avoided saying their names? If you ask me, I think something fishy is going on around here."  
Luke tensed as he saw four figures emerge from the bush. They were turned slightly away from him. He did a light scan, and found that they were all worried about finding him. They were probably more scared than he was. So, he decided to leave them alone, as long as they didn't see him.   
One of them just happened to turn in his direction though. At first, he must have misjudged Luke as something else and his gaze passed over, and snapped back. Oh man! Luke thought, and the trooper yelled, "Look! Over there! We've got one of them, boys. Capture plan beta, go!"  
Knowing that his cover was blown, Luke stood up. "I don't want to have to hurt any of you," he said, "So why don't we just say you never saw me, and be on your way."  
Luke knew that he looked less than intimidating right now, but he knew that he had the Force to help him. The attacking group had spread into a half circle in front of him, all armed with stun pistols. They were obviously trying to take him alive.  
None of the troopers seemed to even consider the offer. Hesitantly, he ignited his lightsaber. It's green-yellow blade sprang forward and the air was filled with it's humming. One of the troopers fired, and the next one fired a second behind him, as did the next and then the last. It was a good plan, and would have taken out a normal opponent easily.  
But Luke was not a normal opponent.  
He let the Force move through him, and deflected all of the stun blots in one smooth sweep of his lightsaber. The blasts dissipated into the air, not deflecting away as a laser would do. All four troopers stood there wide eyed for a moment, and Luke took the opportunity to speak. "I really don't want to hurt you. If you attack me, be warned. I will be highly defensive, and lightsabers can cut through anything. People included. It's your choice but I ask you to consider the risks before you try."  
The men looked at each other, then at Luke. He knew what they were thinking. Surely one beat up Jedi can't be too hard to handle. Well, they were about to be proved wrong.  
One of the men lunged forward and shot his pistol at Luke, and another man fired simultaneously with him. Luke danced to the side and wove a curtain of hard light and stopped the blasts. He ducked down low as a blast pierced the air where his head had been. Luke moved forward and cut the end off one of the blasters. The man wielding the weapon jumped back in surprise, then lunged at Luke. He caught Luke around the waist and tackled him to the ground.  
Luke hit the ground with a cry. His lightsaber flew from his hand, and landed on the ground a good four feet away from him. Luke got his feet under the trooper on top of him and pushed. The trooper flew into the air, and landed on his back nearly five feet away.   
Luke knew the other troopers were closing in on him. He called the lightsaber to his hand, and spun to face two of the attackers. Where had the fourth one gone? One of the troopers fired four shots in quick succession and Luke parried three of them, one nicking his shoulder as he blocked one near his leg. He reached forward and neatly sliced off the end of the gun, making it a useless weapon.   
The other trooper hesitated, and then fired at Luke. Luke blocked the bolts, and was knocked forward as the first trooper, who had recovered from his flight, jumped on him from behind. Luke's lightsaber flew away again, and he didn't see where it landed. He felt the trooper trying to pin his arms, but Luke used the Force and flung him to the side. Luke started to stand, but was knocked back over as trooper number two flung himself on top of Luke. Trooper two was joined by the one who still had his blaster, pinning Luke to the ground. They slapped a pair of manacles around his wrists behind his back, and one grabbed his hair and yanked him to his knees.   
They probably thought that he was helpless now. Wrong. Luke kicked the feet out from underneath one of them, and rammed his shoulder into the other's stomach. Luke knew though, that it was pretty much hopeless. Trooper number one was already heading back this way, and Luke couldn't fight very well with a lightsaber with his hands behind his back. But there was no time for him to use the Force to undo the manacles.   
Trooper number one again launched himself at Luke, missing, rolling back to his feet. He was obviously the most athletic of the group. Luke didn't even know that trooper three was up until he was kicked, hard, in the ribs.  
He cried out, and collapsed to the ground. The troopers moved over him, making sure that he didn't get back up. One spoke into a commlink, and Luke vaguely heard a few replies.  
A minute or so later, some one yanked him to his knees. He saw that one of the troopers (he thought it was trooper one) held his lightsaber, and was walking to where another trooper was standing. Although Luke had lost his bearings in the fight, he knew what they were looking at. Leia.  
Luke saw one of the troopers bend down and pick her up. "Leave her alone," he said, "If you have any respect for the New Republic, let her be!"  
"Why?" one of the troopers said, "She can't be that important to the Republic."  
"How can you say that?" Luke said, "That's Leia Organa Solo, the President of the New Republic. If she's not important, I don't know who is."  
The troopers stared at Luke, disbelieving. Then the one holding Leia looked closely at her face and said quietly, "The Jedi's right. It is Organa Solo. How did you know that Jedi?"  
"She's my sister," Luke said quietly.  
"Now wait just a minute there," another trooper said, "If you're her brother wouldn't that make you Skywalker?"  
"Yes," Luke said, "Why does it matter to you?"  
Trooper two kneeled in front of Luke, to get a better look at his face. "I don't know how much that will help you figure out who I am," Luke said, "You probably can't see much through the bruises."  
"No, you can't," the trooper admitted, "But I do recognize you, from my days with the rebellion. I recognize you from Hoth. I was a helper in the medical suite for awhile before I quit. It is him, guys."  
Trooper four, who was obviously the highest ranking of them, barked orders at them. "All right, that's enough of that. No one in my group will sympathize with the Jedi. Well take both of them back to Prince Xizor, and go about our business. Understood?"  
"Sir," one of the troopers said, "Do you realize what we've just done? This is Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi Master," he turned to Luke, "How'd you get so beat up in the first place?"  
"Xizor," Luke said, "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into if you're working for him."  
"Sir, if we take him back to Xizor, who knows what's gonna happen if the Republic finds out? There will be no place to hide from them, much less the rest of the Jedi that he's trained. Why don't we just let him and her take their chances out here?"  
Luke felt the officer's intent before he even moved. "Look out!" he yelled, and he hit the second trooper to the side as a laser blast sliced through where the trooper had just been. The blast missed the trooper, but hit Luke in the shoulder.  
The impact of the blast knocked Luke to the ground, and trooper three fired a stun at the officer, catching him square in the chest. The officer was knocked backwards into a mushroom, and slid to the ground. Trooper two picked himself up and kneeled next to Luke. "T-Thank you," he stammered.  
"I put you three under arrest for violating orders, disobeying a superior officer, and firing a weapon at a superior officer," a new voice said.  
"Up, all of you. Put yourself into custody or force will be used to apprehend you," another new voice said.  
Reluctantly, the troopers stood, and moved next to a different trooper. Luke had gotten himself into a kneeling position, and could see the new group of troopers. There were eight of them, dressed in the same uniforms as the others, but all armed with heavy blasters. Luke could see where the trooper had put Leia down, but didn't go over to her. He saw one of the new troopers whisper into trooper three's ear, and trooper three nodded back at him. The new trooper called over two more troopers. "You two," he said, "Take custody of the male prisoner. These three will take the female."  
The two men came over and hauled Luke to his feet, and the three arrested troopers gathered Leia gently into their arms. Luke couldn't tell if it was out of respect for who she was, the fact that she was a woman, or the fact that she was unconscious. They started to take Luke back to the old imperial post, when Luke felt a few familiar presences through the Force. He looked up into the sky, and could just barely make out the tiny shape of the Millennium Falcon. Inwardly, he smiled and put out yet another call through the Force.  
  
***  
  
Jacen heard a voice through the Force. "Uncle Luke?" he murmured.  
Down here! It said, You can find me through the Force. We almost got away that time. Hurry, you'll find us, the post is hard to miss.   
Jacen ran to the view port, and stretched out in the Force. Sure enough, he felt a bright glow in the Force, and looked down. It was hard to make out, but he saw people, a cluster of maybe twelve. In the center front of it he felt Luke's presence. He put a call of his own through the Force.  
  
***  
  
Luke heard Jacen's excited reply. Uncle Luke! Don't worry, we're coming as fast as we can. I'm sure that Jaina heard you, and is plotting the course as we "speak". Hold on we'll be. . .  
Abruptly, Luke couldn't hear him anymore. It was like being cut off from your senses, and it was maddening. He stopped involuntarily, and was shoved forward. The post was fairly close now, and he really didn't want to wind up seeing Xizor again. He didn't want to know what Xizor would do to him or to Leia. He looked back at Leia, trying to figure out how he could best help her, or if he could at all.   
"Keep moving," a trooper said, poking Luke in the back with a blast rifle.  
"Hey, watch the bruises," Luke said.  
Before he even saw it coming, the end if the blast rifle slammed hard into the side of his face, opening a new gash and knocking him to his knees. The impact was so hard, it was enough to knock him senseless for a moment, unable to move.  
Luke felt someone yank him up, and shove him forward toward the post. The post was close now, and Luke could see a shadowed form in the darkened entranceway.  
"You have made me very displeased, Jedi," Xizor said from the archway, "You and your sister ruined my droids, costing me nearly twenty million credits worth of research and buying money. For that you will pay dearly. Take him to my quarters! My personal guards will deal with him from there."  
Xizor watched disapprovingly as four troopers took Luke to a turbolift and up several stories. Then Luke was led down a hall, to a room that was big enough to fit the old house on Tatooine in. It was unlike any room he had ever seen before, and before he could get a closer look, two well armed guards moved him to the corner of the room, and pressed a button on the wall. A hidden door sprang open, revealing a small, cramped room, and the guards shoved Luke into it. "What spacious accommodations," Luke mumbled, as he turned around.   
He never even saw the end of the gun before it smashed into the side of his head, plunging his world into blackness.  
  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
Leia awoke in a dark room, aware that she was laying on a soft bed, in a soft nightgown.  
Immediately, her mind cleared as she thought, We're home! We're safe, away from Xizor, and Luke is fine. Then, the realization hit her. She was in no place she recognized, and not with Han or the kids. "No," she groaned, as she sat up.  
If she was out of Xizor's grasp, then Han would be here, even if she wasn't awake. She threw the covers off her and climbed out of the bed. Enraged, she stalked around the room, looking for her own clothing. How dare Xizor invade her privacy this way? If she was here, what had he done with Luke?  
Furious that she couldn't find any of her clothing, she moved to the door and pressed the "open" key. Quietly, the door slid open and she moved out into the great-room. It's beauty shocked her, all of the blacks, blues, and the iridescent water walls, all of it.  
From behind her, she heard a voice. "Ah, Leia. Do you know how beautiful you look in blue?"  
Xizor.  
She spun around, glad that her hair was up and out of the way, need she fight. Although, the hair would have helped to cover her bare shoulders better than the thin straps of the gown. "What do you want Xizor?" she demanded, "What have you done with Luke?"  
Prince Xizor sat sprawled on a couch in a corner of the room, apparently satisfied that she enjoyed the room. "Do you like it?" he asked, waving a hand vaguely at the room, "It is amazing what underestimated designers can do if they're well paid."  
Leia dropped her en guard position, and stood tall. "Prince Xizor, I demand to know what you think you are accomplishing with all of this. Yes, I like the room, but if it has anything to do with you I don't want a part of it."  
Xizor stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of her. He stood over her, and put his hands on her shoulders. She jerked away from his touch, but he caught her arms and held her fast. "My love, you must learn to control that temper of yours," he said pulling her close to his strong body, "If you ever want to see your brother again."  
Xizor encircled her in his arms, holding her arms in place and pinning her against him. He used his free arm, and pulled down one strap of her dress. Leia, scared and disgusted, tried to pull away from him, only to get held painfully tight against him. She wriggled and tried to get away, but could not move. "Stop it!" she cried, "Get away from me! Get off of me!"  
But he only bent down and kissed her, so forcefully that it bent her head back. She whipped her head to the side, defying his touch. He trailed his kisses down her neck, tracing the curve of her shoulder with his tongue. He pulled off the other strap of her dress with his mouth, and touched his hand to her breast, caressing it, touching her in ways only Han would. She thrashed in his arm, trying to move away from his touch. He kissed her mouth again, working his tongue against her mouth, seeking a way in. His hand traced her back and moved toward her legs, unzipping the gown as he did so. She screamed and thrashed, but she couldn't get away. He shoved her to the couch, and laid on top of her, pinning her underneath him, and pulling her dress down off of her body, revealing her naked breasts. His mouth moved over her, caressing her breasts. Her arms pinned under her back, she couldn't move. He kissed her again, his tongue working on the inside of her mouth, his hands rubbing her legs, pulling her dress off her. "NO!!" she yelled, "Get off! Stop, please!" He used one of his free hands and pulled off his robe. She felt his penis stiffening against her leg, moving closer to her. He put one arm under her shoulders and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. She felt her dress slide off of her, and he traced his tongue up her stomach. He kissed her neck and touched her butt, all the while moving up her body, ever so slowly. He again kissed her, her involuntary open mouth allowing him in. Fully on top of her now, she felt his penis about to enter her. Somehow, she found the strength to shove herself away from under him, breaking his grasp and knocking him backwards onto the floor. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, dispatching any remnants of the kiss, pulling up the straps of the gown. "Stay away from me!" she yelled, "I'll never break to your will, never! You can torture me, starve me, anything, but I'll never give in Xizor! Never!"  
Clearly startled, Xizor stood up. "Very well," he said, "I may not be able to break you yet. But, I don't have to do a thing to you. I have other means of achieving my goals, and I will accomplish them."  
Her eyes widened with a horror that is indescribable, and she shook her head. "No," she breathed, "Stay away from him. You've already done enough to Luke, leave him alone."  
"The only way is if you submit your will to me. I will give you half an hour to think it through, and visit with your brother. Follow me," he said, and he turned to the door.  
Xizor led her out of the room, and into a repulsorlift. It went up a floor, and let out in a huge penthouse room at the top of the post. She walked behind him, and waited for him to open a hatch that she could not see. Leia saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and swung around. A secret door opened up and Xizor walked over to it. "Go in there," he said, "I will be back in half an hour. I will expect an answer then."  
With that he shoved Leia inside and closed the doorway.  
A minute or so later, the lights came up, dimly. "Leia?"  
She spun around, and she saw Luke to her right, chained in an "X" on the wall. "Luke!" she called, and ran over to him. (Well, the two steps it took to get there anyway.)   
She hugged him as best she could, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his head on her shoulder, and for a long time, she stood there, not wanting to let go.  
It took Leia a minute to realize that she was crying. Even without their link in the Force they knew what each other was thinking. Leia finally spoke. "Do you think we're ever going to get out of this Luke?" she asked.  
"I hope so. I saw the Falcon when Xizor's troopers were dragging us back in here. I managed to send out a call before I got back into the bubble. Jacen heard it, and he told Han about it, I'm pretty sure," Luke said.  
"Thank the Force," Leia said, relief flooding into her mind, "Luke, I don't know what to do. Xizor said that if I don't comply to his will, he'll hurt you. I can't let that happen. But I can't submit to him either, I'd hurt Han and the kids. I can't do that."  
She felt Luke's head rise from off her shoulder. He looked her in the eye when he spoke. "Leia, I can't let you give yourself to Xizor on my account. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."  
"No, you won't Luke. If I refuse, Xizor will kill you! There are too many people that need you to let that happen. If something happens to you, Han will never forgive me. You're like a brother to him Luke, his best friend and one of few he trusts completely."  
"Leia, if you let Xizor take control of you, then you're hurting Han in ways worse than if something happened to me. Not only Han, but you're hurting the kids too," Luke said, "I can't be around to protect the galaxy forever Leia."  
"But you can be around a lot longer if I agree," Leia argued.  
That kept Luke silent for a while. "Are you all right?" Leia asked.  
"No. I have three too many concussions, my ribs kill and something is definitely wrong with my vision. Other than that. . .well, I won't go into details," Luke said hoarsely.  
"Can I look at your ribs?" Leia asked.  
Luke smiled. "You can see them better than I can. Go ahead."  
Leia knelt in front of Luke, and carefully touched her hand to Luke ribs. They were black and blue, and she ran her hand over a bruise, where his ribs were obviously cracked and broken. She felt Luke flinch as she touched a bruise, but she continued to look at his ribcage. The cuts were going to leave scars, Leia was certain of that.  
Leia stood up, and touched Luke's face. "Boy, do you know how to get beaten up. First Vader, all the ones in between, and now this. Although, I must admit that this has probably been the worst," she said, smoothing his mussed hair.  
"Natural talent. What's with your, um, dress?" Luke asked.  
"Either Xizor or someone else slipped it on me while I was unconscious. If I could find my other clothes, I'd be wearing them. But this was of no choice of my own."  
"Hey, it's better than having your hand cut off "  
Luke was interrupted when the lights went died.  
"Xizor's coming back, Luke. I'm not ready yet," Leia said, hugging her brother again.  
"Ow. I don't blame you Leia, I'm not ready either. But sometimes, it's just not something you can control. Close your eyes. That light is really bright," Luke said into her ear.  
The door opened and Leia buried her head against Luke's neck to shut out the light. She heard footsteps behind her, and then two pairs of hands wrapped around her arms, yanking her away from Luke. "Luke!" she yelled, reaching toward him.  
"How valiant, young brother and sister, fighting to stay together," she heard Xizor say from the door.  
The two guards shoved her against the far wall from Luke. "Leave her alone, Xizor!" she heard Luke say.  
Leia saw Xizor's dark form walk into the tiny cell, and move near Luke. She never saw the hit Xizor delivered, but she heard it, loud and hard. She heard Luke's cry. "Luke!" she called.  
"Be quiet," Xizor said, "He'll be fine, in a minute or two. But right now, I need an answer. Do you accept, or do you need to be persuaded? Will you submit to me?"  
"Don't, Leia," she heard Luke say, quiet, weak, and in pain.  
"I told you to be quiet, Skywalker," Xizor growled.  
Leia's eyes started to swell with tears, and she said to Luke, "I'm sorry. I have no choice, Luke."  
"Done!" came Xizor's voice, "Guards, put Organa Solo in my study, and have her wait for me there," his voice changed, "I have business I must first attend to."  
"No!!!" Leia shouted, horrified, "Leave him alone, Xizor. We had a deal! Leave Luke alone!"  
"You can't always get what you want Princess. You above all should know that."  
Leia's temper flared, and she lost all of her carefully placed diplomatic safeguards. "You lying, son of a mynock! You never intended to leave any of us alone, did you?! I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'll see that you pay for this!" she shouted.  
"Don't Leia, you don't know what he'll do to you!" Luke gasped.  
"I don't care Luke," she said, "I'm sick of his twisted games!"  
"You should have listened to your brother, little one," Xizor said.  
But instead of attacking Leia, he moved after Luke again. By now, Leia could see well enough to see what was going on. The first punch Xizor landed hit Luke so hard that his hand cracked, along with another of Luke's ribs. "NO!" Leia screamed, drowning out Luke's outcry.  
Xizor landed a left hook on the side of Luke's face, and it left a painful looking cut. "Stop it, damn you! Leave him alone Xizor!" Leia screamed, tears running down her face.  
He didn't stop, and if anything, hit harder. He kicked Luke's right knee, then slashed down with his claws, leaving five gashes on Luke's chest.  
Leia couldn't do anything to help Luke. The guards held her in place, not letting her look away. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. But nothing could block out Luke's cries. She couldn't cover her ears, couldn't talk, her mouth was too dry. She closed her eyes and tried to gather any amount of the Force, but none came. Her knees buckled, but the guards held her upright.   
Minutes passed, and each minute seemed like an eternity to Leia. Finally, Luke's screaming stopped, and she heard Xizor say, "Take her away."  
Leia opened her eyes, and glanced one last time at Luke. He hung slack against the wall, and his blood pooled on the floor. New wounds crossed over old ones, reopening them. Leia held her gaze on him until the guards dragged her from the tiny room.  
  
***  
  
The Millennium Falcon touched down on Arzid with barely a bump. "Good job, Jaina!" Han Solo told his oldest child, "One of these days, you may just get to be a better pilot than me. Although, I'll have to be old and feeble before that happens."  
Except to smile at his remark, Jaina said nothing. Jacen burst through the cockpit door. "Are we ready to go yet?" he asked.  
"All set," Han said, "You and Tenel Ka ready?"  
Jacen gave him a hurt look. "Dad," he said, "We were ready before planetfall. We were just waiting for the Falcon to land. We'll meet you at the ramp."  
Han checked his charge on his blaster and gave it a quick recharge. Then he walked out of the cockpit. He found Jacen and Tenel Ka waiting just outside of the ramp, looking at the strange giant mushrooms.  
"Dad, this place gives me the creeps," Jacen said, "Let's get Mom and Uncle Luke and get out of here as fast as we can."  
"I agree," Tenel Ka said, "Something is definitely not right here. The post is in that direction, it's the only place I have found where the Force disappears."  
King came down the ramp after Han. "Are we ready to go? I know I am."  
Han nodded in agreement. "Well then, let's go. Lead the way kids, I'll bring up the rear."  
They trudged down a steep hill, trying hard to keep from falling to the bottom. One time, Jacen slipped and nearly fell, but Tenel Ka grabbed his arm and steadied him. Soon after, they reached the bottom of the hill. King walked beside Han.  
"Do you think that we're going to find them?" he asked, "I sincerely wish that I had seen what Zang was doing to me. I would have know that something was wrong! Han, how could you ever forgive me after what I've done?"  
Han saw the desperation and shame in King's face, and he could hear it in his voice. "Look, stuff happens. Once it does, you can never go back in time and redo it. Luke taught me that, a long time ago. I'm sure he'd tell you the same thing. Right now, you need to concentrate on finding Luke and Leia and bringing them back," Han said, "You don't have to worry about forgiveness, if Luke can forgive you, anyone can. And he already has. You told me in hyperspace on the way here."  
"But so much has happened since then! Han, you don't understand! All of this, it's all my fault! If I had seen what Zang was doing, I would never have kidnapped Luke, he would never have gotten hurt, Leia would still be with you, and none of this would have happened!"  
Han stopped and looked King right in the eye. "Don't worry about that now. All you need to do is to find Luke or Leia. I have a hunch that if we find Leia, she'll know where Luke is. So just focus on finding Leia, okay?" Han said, hoping to console King's shame and remorse.  
King sighed and nodded, but Han could tell that he was not happy at all about it. After a not so long time, they reached the outer perimeter of the post. "This is an old Imperial post, so it's not going to be easy. You kids okay?" he asked.  
"Yeah, I am. It's just being without the Force takes a minute or so to adjust to," Jacen said, rubbing his temples.  
Tenel Ka nodded in agreement. "Han," she said, "How are we going to penetrate the post? Subtlety or search and destroy?"  
"I say we try for subtly first, then move into a search and destroy. I don't want Xizor to know we're here until we've taken off with Leia and Luke," Han said.  
"I think we should try going in the drainage tube over there," King said, "Either that, or I suggest going straight to the top. That's where either Luke or Leia will be."  
Han looked at King quizzically. "How do you come by that conclusion, King?" Han asked, a little suspicious.  
"Well, if you had no means of getting down the outside of the tower, like say a rope or a ladder or something, wouldn't that be the best place to keep someone prisoner?"  
"Good reasoning. So, got any ideas on how to get up there?" Han said.  
"We have our fibercords!" Jacen said, "Although, I don't know how much weight they can hold. Tenel Ka do you have any idea?"  
"I have never tested it's strength before, Jacen. But I do believe it will be sufficient to accomplish the task," she said confidently.  
"Great," Han said, "Does anyone see any cameras or detection probes?"  
They scanned the area, and found only one camera. Carefully setting up a tiny malfunction, they moved forward. Tenel Ka and Jacen hurled the ends or their fibercords up as far as they would go. There were still one or two floors to go, but Han suspected that it wouldn't be too hard. Han carefully started to climb Jacen's fibercord, not looking down. He could feel Jacen below him a few feet, and he could see and hear King next to him on Tenel Ka's cord.  
By the time he reached the balcony to where the fibercord was anchored, he was annoyed to hear how hard he was panting, and to feel how hard his heart was pounding. He pulled himself over the edge of the balcony, looking for any sign of guards or cameras. When he saw none, he motioned for King to come up. He helped Jacen up, and pulled up the fibercord. Next to him, King did the same. "Where to now?" King asked.  
"I don't know. Let's go through the post from here. Let's go through that window over there," Han said, pointing to a window on his right.  
Han carefully walked over to the window. It was big enough for him to go through standing up, and wouldn't be too high for the kids either. It was dark inside the room, and it made it impossible for him to see anything. He drew his blaster and motioned for King to follow him. He dived inside the window, and rolled against the wall. He waited for a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the low light, and breathed, "Clear!" next to the window at King.  
He saw King, climb through the window, and followed by Tenel Ka and Jacen's smaller forms. Han looked around the dark room for any sign of movement, and strained his hears to hear any noise. He heard the soft bubbles of water, and touched his hand to the wall. It was vibrating slightly, and when he turned to inspect it, he found that it was the bubbles in the water that made the vibrations.  
He moved out into the center of the room, and moved down a short hall to his left. At the end, he saw light from under the door that blocked him from going any farther. King was next to him now, and motioning to open the door. Han nodded, and moved to grasp the door handle. Ever so slowly he turned it, and when he could turn it no farther, he shoved open the door and burst his way in, his blaster held in front of him.  
"Stop!" he said to King, a moment after he realized who the figure on the bed was, "Don't shoot her! Leia, you're safe!"  
Leia flung herself into Han's outstretched arms, and Han held desperately tight to her. "Mom!" Jacen called, running over to her and hugging her and Han. Han barely felt his added weight, he was so overjoyed at finding Leia.  
"Han, I was so afraid I'd never see you again," Leia said into his ear.  
"Me too," Han said back to her, "Shh, everything will be okay now. We've got to find Luke. Do you know where he is?"  
Leia looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "Yes," she said, "We've got to help him Han. Xizor beat him again, I had to be there the entire time. We've got to hurry!"  
Leia dashed out into the main room, and Han followed close behind her. He didn't know if the others were following, and he didn't care. All that was important to him right now was getting to Luke, and getting everyone out of here alive.  
Han followed Leia out into the hall, and down by a turbolift. "In here," she said, "We need to go up one floor to get to Xizor's penthouse. That's where Luke is. Xizor has armed guards in his room, and the devil himself might be up there. You all armed?"   
"Yeah. I've got an extra blaster for you," Han said, pulling out a small blaster from his belt and handing it to Leia.  
"Thanks, I hope I get a shot at Xizor. I'll make it count," she said.  
Then she herded Han, King, Jacen, and Tenel Ka into the turbolift and pressed the floor one up. The lift stopped all to soon, and the door slid quietly open. Han saw Leia fire her blaster once and one guard toppled to the floor. Han tracked the other as he moved out of the turbolift. He fired, and hit the guard squarely in the chest. The guard slid to the floor, motionless. King came out beside Leia, and scanned the room for any more guards while Leia ran over to a control board on the far side of the room. "Han!" she called, "Come and help me with this. This is the control that opens the room where Luke is held. But I don't know what the code is. Is this hot-wireable?"  
Han ran over to her side and studied the panel. "I suppose it could be," he said, "But I don't want to bust it if it's not, and ruin our chance at getting Luke out."  
King walked over to the panel. "I know a few codes I could try first, if you want. I used to do a little. . .policing in the Meridan sector, and that's where this panel was manufactured."  
"Please, give it your best shot," Han said to King.  
King punched in a complicated code, and it failed. Han felt his throat constrict a little, but he said to himself, Don't worry, it's only one code of many that failed.  
The next code King tried was a little easier, but it too failed.  
Two other codes later, King punched in a long code that was fairly simple, but a lot of numbers to remember. This code took a minute to process, and a green light finally blinked above the console. "It worked!" King said.  
Han watched Leia run over to the wall on Han's left. "Leia what are you ?" he began to say.  
"Get over here, Han! You'll be able to see the outline of the door. It takes a minute to unlock," she said.  
Han walked over. Indeed, he did see the faint outline of a hidden door. A few minutes later, the door moved slowly to the side. As soon as she could, Leia slipped through the opening in the door. "Stay out here," Han said to Jacen and Tenel Ka.  
"But Dad!" Jacen protested.  
"No. We'll be back in a second. King, you might want to stay with them."  
King nodded at Han. He understood that Han was trying to protect the kids from any shocks. At least Han hoped he did.  
Han followed Leia into the room. He was surprised at how tiny the room was, and it was very dark so it took him a half second to find Leia. She was to his right, leaned up against the wall.  
Han walked over, and saw that she was not leaning against the wall as he thought, but hugging an unconscious Luke. "Oh man," he said softly, "It didn't look this bad on the ship."  
Carefully, he touched Luke's head, careful to avoid the bloodiest spots. "Call King in here, Han," Leia told him, "We've got to figure out a way to get these clamps off of him."  
"Yeah, sure. Hey King! Get in here!" Han said.  
Han felt King join them, and heard him take in a quick gasp. He turned and saw that King's face was white and that he was slowly shaking his head. "Hey, buddy," Han said, "Snap out of it. Help us figure out a way to get Luke out of these clamps."  
King started and looked at Han. "Yeah, okay. Sure, I can do that," he said as he walked over next to Leia.  
He placed his fingertips on one of the clamps that held Luke's wrist. Then he traced it, searching for the locking mechanism. "I don't know, Han," King said, "This thing is embedded into the wall. It'll take a lot of time to pry off, time we may not have. I don't know where the control to open them is. Do you Leia?"  
She let go of Luke and looked at King. When she did, Han could finally see the extent of Xizor's damage to Luke. It was enough to make him wince in sympathetic pain. "No," Leia said sadly, "I was only up here once, and just for a little while. The only control panel that I saw was out there, where you opened the door from."  
King sighed. "You think a vibro-blade would cut through this?" he asked Han.  
Han considered a moment before answering. "Probably not," he said. "But it's worth a try don't you think?"  
Han heard Jacen's voice from the doorway. "What about a lightsaber?" he asked quietly, from inside the doorway.  
Han turned around. He saw Jacen leaning against the far wall, and Tenel Ka just inside the doorjamb. "Jacen," he said, "That's an excellent idea. But I thought I told you to wait out in the room."  
Jacen took an uneasy step forward and spread his hands in a gesture that Luke often made. "I couldn't help it Dad. I had to see Uncle Luke."  
"Well, you're here now," King said. "It can't do any harm Han."  
Tenel Ka tugged her lightsaber off her belt and ignited it. "Here," she said to Leia. "Take this."  
"Thank you, Tenel Ka," Leia said. "Back away boys."  
Han backed to the door, and watched Leia use the lightsaber to cut away the clamps at Luke's feet. Han was glad she'd remembered to do that, he knew he probably would have forgotten and wound up breaking Luke's ankles. She beckoned him to come over, and she cut the clamp off Luke's left wrist. He probably would have fallen forward, but Han was already there, holding him up.  
It took her what seemed forever to cut Luke out of the clamp, but Han knew that it was only how fast his heart was beating, and the anxious moments near victory. Well, almost victory. He was close enough.  
Han caught Luke as the clamp came off, staggering a little. He wasn't quite ready for all of that weight to come down all at once, but he regained his footing quickly. King was next to him now. "Do you want me to carry him? It's the least I can do, and it'll let you be able to move faster if anything happens," he said softly.  
"Sure," Han said, allowing King to lift Luke into his arms.  
"Let's go," Leia said turning to the door.  
And stopped short. A man with a blaster in his hand stood in the doorway, blocking their path to freedom. "No," he said, "You will not be going anywhere, any of you."  
Han knew who this was. It was the man he had seen from the video, and in the ship. He knew without looking at Leia who this was. It was Prince Xizor.   
"Damn," Han mumbled under his breath, "I knew this was too easy."  
He fingered the trigger of his blaster nervously, wondering if he was fast enough to shoot Xizor before Xizor shot him, or anyone else. "I wouldn't recommend it Solo," Xizor said, "I would fry you before the gun came up high enough for you to shoot me. I'm an expert at quick draw, and have been undefeated in my lifetime. But if you feel the need to die. . ."  
Xizor shot one very quick blast at Han's boot, melting part of the heel off. Han stared in surprise at his boot. He had never seen anyone shoot that fast before. Now his foot hurt, besides all things. Great, he thought, Just great.  
"Just a warning," Xizor said, "Now all of you, out into my room."  
He stepped enough to the side to be out of the way, and watched them shuffle out from the tiny room. Han came last. He had to do something, or they would all be killed. As he passed Xizor, he made up his mind.   
He was supposed to set his blaster down on the floor as he went by. He bent down, acting like he was laying it on the ground, holding the trigger away from his hand. As he set it down next to Jacen's lightsaber, he kicked.   
Xizor's feet flew out from underneath him, toppling him to the ground. He landed face first on the ground with a startled yelp, and Han jumped on his back, pinning Xizor's arms behind his back. Leia ran over to help him, and took Xizor's blaster from his hands. "What do you think?" she said to him, "Should I put it on 'Stun' or 'Kill'?"  
Han felt Xizor flinch beneath him, behind all of his struggling. "I don't care, Leia," he said, "But what ever you do, do it quick. I'm getting tired of holding him in place."  
He saw Leia touch a button and fire the blaster at Xizor's head. The blue beam knocked the alien out and Han got up. "You've gone soft," he said, "You used to kill people that worked for the Empire with no problem."  
She looked at him. "I know, but I think he needed to sweat a little before I took him back to the Republic to a fate worse than death."  
"Hmm. I didn't think that you had such a cruel side to you Leia. Maybe we should just leave him here, and let him get buried in the rubble," Han said to her.  
"What do you mean 'buried in the rubble'?" she asked.  
Han pulled out a small but deadly thermal detonator. It was the type that Leia told him they had used against him on Coruscant. "Well," he said, "Don't you think it would be fitting for him to die the way his castle did?"   
Leia smiled, the smile warming his heart. "I do indeed believe that would be a fitting end," she said.  
"Leia, Han," King said, "We need to go back to Leia's room to get out of here. Unless you want to take the turbolift down."  
"We should probably go the way we came. Are you sure that you can carry Luke all the way back down?" Han said.  
"I think so."  
"Come on," Leia said, "I'll lead you back to the room."  
Jacen had called the turbolift, and it arrived as soon as she stopped speaking. They climbed into it.  
It stopped as soon as it started to go down, or so it seemed. The door opened again and they went out into the hall, and across to the room they had found Leia in. It was still dark, but they could see the light coming from the window they had come in. Han took Jacen and ran over to the window, and climbed out onto the ledge. Jacen climbed out after him, and Han thought that Jacen looked a little uneasy. Soon, the others came out and were crouching on the balcony next to him.  
"Let's get down as fast as we can. I'll go first. Leia, you come next. Then King will have backup in case he drops Luke. Jacen, you come before Tenel Ka. That okay with everybody?" he said.  
"That's a very good idea Han," Leia said, "But can one fibercord hold all of us?"  
"It should," he said, frowning, "We could always go down one at a time. Or wait until the person in front of you is halfway down."  
"Use the halfway down idea," King said, "It'll be easier on the cord, and it will get us down faster."  
Han nodded in agreement. He hated going first, but he didn't trust anyone else to be ready in case of a fire fight. Yeah, Leia might be ready, but she wasn't strong enough if push came to shove. King would be carrying Luke, and he didn't even have a blaster with him. Han had learned that he didn't like the things, and preferred to fight with his hands.  
Jacen handed Han his fibercord, and Han tied it securely around the rail. Then he slipped over the edge, taking a deep breath as he did so. He wrapped the cord around his hand a few times and rappelled down the side of the post. When he was just about halfway down, he felt Leia start down. Soon, his feet landed on solid ground.   
Han scanned the area around him, his blaster already in his hand. He didn't see anyone, and that made him suspicious. If Xizor knew that they were up there, wouldn't he have alerted his troops?  
He more felt than heard Leia hit the ground next to him, and when he turned to see her, she already had her blaster ready. Han smiled. That was part of the reason that he had always loved her. Ready at a moments' notice, always good with a blaster.  
He saw King sliding down the fibercord faster that he or Leia had come, holding Luke in one arm and sliding with the other. Han cringed a little, knowing that had to burn. Leia had moved out of the way to let Kind land, and his feet landed with a thump on the ground. "Do you see anybody?" he asked King.  
"No," King said, "But I've got a feeling that there are people out there, watching us right now."  
"Yeah, me too," Han said, scanning the bushes more closely, "I've got a hunch about it, and my hunches are usually pretty good."  
"Mine too. Keep an eye out. I think Luke's gonna wake up soon. He's starting to move some," King said.  
Han frowned. "Then we'd better move fast. I wanted to be on the Falcon before he wakes up."  
Jacen hit the ground beside King, and turned around. "Dad," he said, "We forgot to get mom and Uncle Luke's lightsabers. Do you think we have time to find them?"  
Leia looked at Jacen. "Jacen, I your uncle and I can always make new lightsabers. They're not worth risking everyone's life to get," she said, "And besides, I'm supposed to make my own anyway."  
He nodded and looked up at Tenel Ka, who was already nearly at the ground. "Jacen," she called from about four meters up the fibercord, "You may want to move before I land on you."  
Han smiled as Jacen backed hastily out of the way. Tenel Ka dropped the last two meters and yanked the fibercord down with her. She put it back on her belt and nodded.   
Han pulled his commlink out of his pocket and switched it on. "Jaina," he said, "You there?"  
There was a moment of silence. Then Jaina's voice came back to him. "Same place you left us Dad. Are we ready to go?"  
"All set," Han said, "We'll be there soon."  
"Good. Something fishy is going on here. Lowie can feel it too. Let's get out of here as fast as we can."  
"Han," Leia said, "what about the detonators that you were going to use?"   
"What about them?" he asked, "I left one of them as a present for whoever used the turbolift next, and one in your room."  
"Good," she said with a sigh, "For a minute I had thought that you had forgotten about them."  
"Me? Forget anything? Never!"  
Han watched her laugh uneasily, and his comment sounded unsure, even to himself. He started moving in the direction of the Falcon and stopped short as a laser blast nearly took off his head. Where had that come from?  
He wheeled around, firing a few shots into the bushes. "Run to the ship!" he called, "I'll be right behind you."   
There were no more shots at the moment, and he risked a check at his chronometer. Not good. Five minutes was nearly up. If they didn't move out of this vicinity, and soon at that, they would all be buried under a ton of rocks. He saw that he had given Leia, King and the kids enough breathing room, and made a break for it. he sprinted to where the Falcon was parked, dodging blasts of lasers as he did so. One knicked his heel, and left an unpleasant burn there. He would have to deal with that later. If he got out of this alive that is.   
He ducked to down low as something caught his eye, and was glad that he did so. If he had stayed in the same place for another second, he would have been clotheslined by a fine wire, just at throat level.   
Up ahead, he could see the Falcon, and five figures crowded into the rampway. "Go!" he shouted.  
They all ran up the ramp. And just in time too. He ran up the ramp at full speed and could not stop. He slammed rather ingloriously into the wall just beyond the hatchway. Leia caught him just before he crashed onto the deck, and he saw, out of the corner of his eye, King and Jaina dashing for the cockpit. King had left Luke on the couch, and Jacen was sitting next to him.   
Leia hauled him to his feet, and ran for the quad guns. Yep, that lady knew him better than himself sometimes. Han, still somewhat out of breath, dashed to the cockpit. "Move!" he said, pushing King out of the pilot's seat.  
King nearly fell out of the seat, and Han moved the Falcon into the air. He slapped the shields on, and felt the small shudder of blaster fire against them. He ignored it, turning the ship towards the blackness of space.  
"Han," he heard in his ear, "We've got company coming!"  
Han cursed to himself. They didn't need this, not now. They were so close!  
Behind him, in the distance, he heard a gigantic roar, like a monster clearing it's throat. That had to be the post, and all of the fighters in it. He smiled and pushed the engines to their limits. They were rocketing away from the planet as fast as this ship could take them. He heard the quad guns fire, and heard an explosion. "Good shot Leia!" he said over the ear piece.  
He didn't hear a reply, nor did he expect one.  
Instead, he concentrated on flying, and getting away as in one piece as they could. He threw in a couple of flips and spins, evading the laser fire that came their way. A few stray shots bounced off the shields.   
"Dad! Watch out for those ships in front of us!" Jaina said from beside him.  
He gritted his teeth and decided to play chicken. Probably not the wisest of moves right now, but it would work. He steeled himself and ignored all of Jaina's yells, Leia's protests, and King's stunned silence, focusing entirely on not getting everyone killed.  
The Falcon continued to move forward, and accelerated as it did so. The other pilots weren't moving. Han frowned, but kept moving. Most pilots would have moved by now. Finally, the ships moved, just a second before the Falcon smashed into them.  
Han breathed a sigh of relief. That had been awfully close. Closer than Han liked to admit. He wasn't used to being nervous like that.  
He heard Leia fire again, and something else blew. How many ships were behind them? He risked a glance at the radar. He couldn't even count them all in the time he had. There had to be at least fifteen, a startling number to chase after one ship. "King, get back there and help Leia with those fighters," he said.  
He heard King leave, and a minute later felt two of the guns working. Three more fighters were blown away.   
"Lowie," he said, "Set a hyperspace course for Yavin 4. We're heading home as soon as we get out of the planet's gravity pattern. Which will be fairly soon, so get moving."  
"Dad, I. . .I think you'd better hurry," Jaina said as she worked the controls, "There are some pretty big ships coming up behind those fighters. From what I can tell, I think there's a corvette, and a few assault transports. I have a really bad feeling about this."  
"Assault transports?! For this? Don't you think they're going a little overboard with the ships out there?" Han asked.  
Jaina didn't answer, because the proximity alarm started clanging. Han swore, and dived into a power dive to get out of the path of a ship that had just come out of hyperspace. "Leia!" he shouted, "Watch that ship at twelve point four two! It's undoubtedly another of Xizor's friends."  
"No, Han. It's a Jedi, I can tell from here. But I can't tell who it is. It doesn't feel like any of Luke's students, at least none that I knew. But it's a Jedi nonetheless."  
"Good, it's about time someone showed up to help us here."   
The new ship blasted four of the fighters surrounding the Falcon, obliterating them with one shot each. "Seeker to Millennium Falcon. I heard that you could use some help here. Mind if I join in?" the person other ship said.  
"Falcon to Seeker. Thanks, we could use the help. We need to get out of here fast though, I've got someone who's badly wounded on board. I'm transmitting the hyperspace jump coordinates to you, and we're jumping as soon as we take out a few more of these fighters," Han said.  
"Don't worry about the fighters Falcon. Let me handle them. This little ship can handle anything, kind of like the Falcon can. Besides, you need to get your wounded friend medical treatment as soon as possible. He's barely holding on. I'll be right behind you, by a few minutes."  
Han stared at the comm. Did this Jedi know about Luke? Probably. From what he'd heard from Leia and the twins and Anakin, Luke's Force sense was like a supernova in the middle of blank space. It probably wasn't easy to hide that from anyone sensitive to the Force, trained or otherwise.  
"Copy that Seeker," Jaina said, "We're heading home."  
Han called Leia and King down from the quad guns. "Move Luke to the medical bunk, King. We are out of here!" he said, and then he pulled down on the levers.Hyperspace flared open before them. They were safe.  
  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Leia was sitting in the bunk next to Luke when she felt his consciousness surface. "Luke?" she said softly.  
She crossed the small space and knelt next to Luke's bunk, grabbing his hand and holding it in between her own. "Luke?" she asked again.  
A few anxious moments passed, but then Luke's eyes fluttered open. "Leia?"  
"I'm here Luke. We're on the Falcon, Han's in the cockpit with the kids. I have a probably few seconds before they come running in here. I never realized how much they loved you Luke. They helped so much, I don't know if we could have done it without them," she said squeezing his hand.  
She felt Luke's reassuring, and surprisingly strong, squeeze in acknowledgment. "I always told you they were as strong willed as you and Han," he said.  
"Well, they've definitely proved it. How are you felling?" Leia asked.  
"Oh, about what you'd expect. Let's say I've seen better days. What about you? You went through all of Xizor's games and still managed to come out sane," he said.  
The question startled her, but she never got a chance to answer. At that moment, Jacen, Jaina, and Han burst through the doorway. It was a jumble of arms and legs, piles of questions that she couldn't make out, and the sense of joy and relief threatened to make her jump up and down. "Calm down," she said, loud enough to be heard over them, "You get yourselves organized, and then ask questions, one at a time. Han, let the kids go first. We can always talk to Luke alone."  
"Sure thing," Han said.  
The twins then launched themselves into question and answer with Luke. Each twin had a varying degree of them, and Leia was startled to hear a few of them. After about twenty minutes of that, Leia called a time. "You can ask your Uncle Luke more questions later. But right now, your father and I need to talk with him. Go help Tenel Ka and Lowie in the cockpit. Tell us when it's time to come out of hyperspace. Now, go on."   
Reluctantly, Jaina and Jacen left for the cockpit.   
"I never thought that those two could ask so many questions." Han said, "If I had known that Luke, I would have made them wait. You doing okay?"  
Luke sighed, just slightly. "I honestly don't know Han. Physically, I guess so. But it's just that. . .I don't know. My mind is clouded. I can't use the Force to do anything. I can feel it and I can touch it. I just can't affect it. And I don't know why."  
"But. . .how can that be possible?" Leia stammered, "I've never heard of anything like it before."  
"I have one theory that I've been able to come up with. I might have been drugged after they took you. If it worked fairly quickly, it would be able to keep me from using the Force. Although, that's just a theory," Luke said.  
"I suppose when we get back to Yavin it will have worn off," Leia said, "But if it hasn't, then there's bound to be an antidote to it. The 2-1B medical droid you have at the academy ought to be able to figure it out."  
Luke groaned. "The academy! What are my students going to think about this? I told them the Force guided and protected them. Some will still believe that but some. . . . . .some I'm not so sure about."  
"I'm sure that they'll understand this, kid. And, the Force wasn't even there because of the ysalamiri," Han said, "Besides, every odd was against you. You were hopelessly outnumbered, and not up to your usual fighting status."  
Luke seemed to consider that for a moment. "Maybe," he answered reluctantly, "But I'm not sure if that will do anything to persuade my students to think otherwise."  
Leia reached out and touched his bruised hand. "Don't worry. Han and I will just have to persuade them. I'm sure they'll listen." I hope they'll listen.  
"Hey, Luke. What would you think about Jacen and Tenel Ka getting together? You know, sort of like young love. That okay with you?" Han asked, "And I must admit, they look pretty good together."  
For a minute, Leia feared that Luke would totally disagree. But her fears were insubstantial, as Luke broke out into the biggest smile that she had seen in years. "Jacen and Tenel Ka," he murmured, "I always knew it. Personally, I think it was about time they got together. How long has this been going on?"  
Leia smiled. "For about a week now. Ever since this whole mess started. But it's brought them so close to each other, you'd think they've been like this for years," she said, "We'll let you get your rest now. You need it. The kids'll probably be in here later."  
"Take it easy, Luke. Call if you need anything, you know where the comm is," Han said, "I'll be in the cockpit, making sure the Jaina doesn't dissect something important."  
Then Han grabbed her hand, and pushed Leia gently out of the room. Once they were in the lounge area, Leia let her concern show. "I don't get it, Han. Luke should be fine by now. He should have been awake long before that. Something is wrong here, and I can't figure out what it is," she said, wringing her hands.  
Han hugged her, and inside his arms she felt good, knowing the comfort of familiarity. "I don't know how to help him," she said quietly.  
"Don't worry," he said, his breath ruffling strands of her hair, "I'll talk to the medics at Yavin and see what I can find out. And besides, it's Luke. He always comes out fine, every time he gets into a mess. From the Empire, Ssi-ruuk, Dathomir, C'baoth, and everything in between up till now, he's always been fine, even if it took some time. He's got a strange sort of luck, one that nearly lets him die, but always brings him back. I'm sure that he's going to be fine Leia."  
"I wish I had your confidence," Leia said, "But I still can't figure out who that Jedi was that saved us back there. I recognize the voice, but from where, I'm not sure. I've never felt that presence before either. That above all things, bugs me. And, it wasn't just some half trained Jedi. It was full blown, like Luke, if not more so."  
"Hmm. Doesn't that ring a bell? There are a few suggestions that my mind tosses up, one in particular, but I don't see how that could be."  
"Who are you thinking of Han?"   
"Callista. You know, the blonde with legs. But now that I think of it she may not be a blonde anymore. . ." Han said.  
"Callista?!" Leia exclaimed, cutting off his remark, "That's it! She's the only Jedi who would have more experience than Luke, I know her voice, and I would never have known her sense because she was blocked from the Force! Han, you're a genius!"  
"So now you're sure? Man-oh-man, wait'll Luke hears about this. I think that she knew that it was Luke who was in trouble too," Han said, "Do you realize that Luke will be getting married fairly soon if it is her? Who knows, you and me may yet have a couple of nieces and nephews. Just imagine the commotion that this will cause if some sort of reporter finds out."  
"I can't wait to see Luke happy. I know he's been fine with the academy, but he's never really filled his more personal needs. Do you realize that if they have children, those kids may well be the most powerful Jedi for generations?" Leia said.  
"Hmm. I've never even thought of that," Han said, taking a step away from her, "I'd better get back up there. I know there's not much the twins can do in hyperspace, but I'm not taking any chances. Relax a little, Leia. You need to. Get some rest, and I'll wake you up when we get to Yavin. Okay?"  
"Yeah," Leia said, "I guess so. Just wake me up if anything goes wrong."  
Leia knew that she was tired, but she didn't think that she was this tired. She was fast asleep before she hit the pillow, and then the dreams started a minute later.  
  
In her dream, she was standing in the middle of an open plain, on a barren and desolate world. There were no trees or plants, only red dust and rocks. Wind whipped around her, throwing dust into her eyes, and making little dust devils.   
She was wearing one of her old alliance combat outfits, but her hair was free and snapping in the wind, making her skin tingle. Faintly, in the distance, she heard her name, over and over again. She turned, scanning the horizons for a person. When she got halfway around, she saw a man behind her. He was wearing a Jedi robe, like Obi-wan always had, but she had never seen him before. He was tall and thin, with placid features. "Who are you?" she asked, her words echoing around her.  
The man ignored her question and spoke in a rich alto voice. "We bring you a message, Leia Organa Solo. The ultimate test has yet to come. But it is beginning now, and your faith must endure, or the one close to you will die, and all that you know will come crashing down around you. Your husband will try to save him, but only the reborn one can. All of us know that, but this weight lies solely upon you, Leia Organa Solo. Your faith can save us all."  
"You're speaking in riddles. Who is this 'reborn one'?" she asked, "My faith in what? Why are you saying 'we', when it's only you?"  
The man blinked slowly. "We are the Jedi of the past, Leia Organa Solo, condensed into one being, breaking the barriers to speak to you. We can only maintain this contact for a short time, and you must heed our words. Your faith will save the last Master, but only if it is kept true, and not swayed," he said, the image flickering a little and becoming less solid, "We must release this hold. Heed our words, and may the Force be with you."  
Then the image was gone, and for a moment, Leia could only stand there, stunned into silence. Slowly she shook her head, and then the world was filled with screaming, making her cover her ears and sink to the ground.  
  
Leia jerked awake, realizing that the screaming had come from out here. Han was shaking her, his voice frantic, his face filled with fear. "Leia! Come on. It's Luke, I don't know what's happening to him."  
Leia threw the covers off of her, and jumped out of the bed. She followed Han down the short hall, her bare feet pounding against the floor. She skidded to a halt just outside of the med-room door, afraid of what she might find. She heard Han herding the twins out, and watched them come out a half second later.  
Then she dashed into the room, and stopped short. Luke lay on the bed, his skin a weird grayish color, the monitors beeping like crazy. Leia hit the door close, and moved next to Han, who was already kneeling next to Luke looking at the monitors, and checking their gauges. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" she asked.  
"I've never seen anything like this before, but then again, I don't even know what a few of these monitors are for. But I have a pretty good idea. Can you reach through the Force and touch Luke, find out what's happening?" Han hastily replied, still looking from gauge to gauge.  
"I'll try," Leia said, as she shut her eyes and reached through the Force, searching for her brother's presence.  
What she found shocked her. "Luke's still there, but it's like he's not. His mind is totally blocked, but I get a sense of surprise and a twinge of fear. I'm not sure that he knows what's going on, but he isn't conscious right now. It's just residue feeling," she said, "How long before we get to Yavin?"  
Han looked at her. "About fifteen minutes, but I can always push the Falcon and we can be there in about ten. 'Course it won't do the Falcon any good."  
"Push it," she said, remembering her dream promotion, "I've got a really, really bad feeling about this."  
Han ran to the cockpit, and in a second, she felt the Falcon groan. She knew that Han was pushing the Falcon at it's maximum, bypassing all of the safeguards too. Leia knew that they had to be going at least point seven past lightspeed. This was one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, but she hoped that it was fast enough to save her brother.  
  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
  
The Millennium Falcon soared out of hyperspace, and rocketed towards the fourth moon of Yavin.   
Jacen Solo sat next to Jaina and Tenel Ka. Lowie was taking a break, saying he needed some down time.  
Jacen knew that something was wrong. Something had happened to Uncle Luke, and now his Mom and Dad wouldn't let them go near him, or into the cockpit. "Do you have any idea what's going on Jaina?" he asked.  
"All I know is that it has something to do with Uncle Luke. Remember how Dad reacted when we told him that we felt something? I'm not really sure that I want to know, Jacen," she said, glancing at the door.  
"We have to find a way to help them, then." Tenel Ka said, "We can put out a call the way Master Skywalker did. Do you remember how he told us about Cilghal? How she is a healer? What if we call her here?"  
Jacen looked at her, and was again struck with a fluttery feeling. He loved her, there was no two ways about it. "Good idea. But can we do it? Are we strong enough to call halfway across the galaxy?" he said.  
"We have to be," Jaina said from beside him, "Cilghal can heal anyone. She healed Mon Mothma when no one else could. If she could do that when she was only partially trained, she's bound to be able to help Uncle Luke now. We have to call her, because it's the only sure way we know that she'll hear. She is a busy ambassador after all, and she may not be on Calamari."  
"Okay then, let's do it. We have to link though, to make sure that it's crystal clear, and she can understand it perfectly well," Jacen said, "Ready?"  
"Whether we're ready or not, it's now or never," Jaina said, gripping his hand, and reaching for Tenel Ka's prosthetic hand, which she had decided to wear when they went to get Luke. Tenel Ka gripped their's and the circle was complete. They opened up to the Force, and felt their strength multiply.  
They projected their thoughts through space, toward Cilghal's calm presence. When they found it, Jacen "heard" Jaina say, "Cilghal, you are needed on Yavin 4 at the Jedi Academy at once. Master Skywalker has been injured, badly, and we think you may be the only one who can help him."  
Jacen jumped in. "Please come as soon as you can," he said.  
In Jacen's mind, he heard Cilghal's solemn reply, "I will be there shortly. I am on my way to my ship. Until I arrive, may the Force be with you and Master Skywalker."  
"Thank you, Cilghal," Tenel Ka, Jaina, and Jacen said.  
And then they broke the connection. They became fully aware of their sur-roundings once again, finding that they were shaking just a little, exhausted from their effort. "We did it!" Jacen exclaimed, "We reached all the way across and held it."  
"I know. It felt weird, like Uncle Luke always described it," Jaina said.  
"Indeed. If I had known that we could do this, I would have suggested it earlier," Tenel Ka said, "But nonetheless, it is a skill that must be practiced."  
"True," Jaina said, "I'm not really anxious to do that again though."  
Both Jacen and Tenel Ka agreed.   
"Look, we're coming up on Yavin 4," Tenel Ka said, "It's feels good to be back here, strange though it may sound. It feels more like home than any place I've ever been."  
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it does sort of feel that way," Jacen said, "We've gotten to see ourselves in our full potential, and unlocked so much about each other here. Other than Coruscant, it's home. That's strange, because we've only been here for a few years, maybe not even that long."  
"Maybe we should strap down," Jaina said, "We're going through the atmosphere at a pretty fast speed and it could get pretty bumpy."  
To prove her point, all three young Jedi knights were thrown out of their seats by a patch of particularly rough air. Jacen landed hard on the floor, and Tenel Ka slightly on top of him. "Well," he said, "I guess that wasn't an entirely bad thing."   
She shoved him playfully back down onto the floor, and he caught her, pulling her down on top of him. "Come on you two," Jaina said, "I'm still in here!"  
Jacen looked up at his sister. "Well, then leave. You can stay if you really want to, but I don't think that stomach of yours can take this. . ." he teased.  
"All right! All right! I'm gone."  
Tenel Ka laughed a little, and Jacen kissed her.  
  
***  
  
They landed by the academy with the blessed cover of nightfall, and Streen met them at the landing pad.  
Streen was the academy's second in command, Luke's assistant and one of his original students. When Han came down the ramp of the Falcon, he could already tell that Streen knew that something was up. Leia was next to him, a candle in a dark mansion and support if he needed it.   
"Streen," he said, "How soon can the med-center be up and running?"  
Streen looked at him quizzically. "It's already up. Master Skywalker had decided to keep it like that, since we have a few late night accidents all the time. It seemed like a good idea to do. Why? Didn't he tell you that?"  
"He hasn't gotten to tell us much of anything," Leia said, "I'll go see if King is ready."  
Then she ran up the ramp, leaving Han alone with Streen. "Is this King injured?" he asked, "What happened to him?"  
Han waited for a minute to answer. "I'm sorry, Streen," he said softly, "It's not King," he gestured over his shoulder, at King and Leia coming down the ramp, "It's Luke."  
Han watched as King came down the ramp, the bright moonlight illuminating everything, he saw that King held Luke in his arms. In the moonlight, Luke looked worse than he did, the bluish light emphasizing the bruises on his face and body. Lowie, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Jaina came down behind them, each looking a little sullen and tired.  
He heard Streen inhale sharply beside him. "Oh, good graces. What happened to him? Who could have done this?" the man said softly.  
"I'll have Leia fill you in later. Right now, Luke needs as much help as you can give him. Something happened to him on the Falcon, and neither Leia or I knows what."  
"Follow me," Streen said, loud enough for King to hear.  
Han took off after Streen, and he felt King and Leia just behind him. They got to the turbolift, and Streen keyed it for the medical floor. In a matter of seconds, they were there.   
Streen ran out into the room, and into the critical area. King came after him, marveling somewhat at the interior of the Great Temple. Han watched Streen preparing the bed and the 2-1B droid hovering about restlessly. He felt Leia grab his hand, and he squeezed reassuringly back.   
Han felt useless here, unable to do anything, and unable to go out fighting. Carefully, he worked his way out of the medical room. He went back to the turbolift, and held it just as Leia came scidding to a halt near him. "Han," she said, "Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"  
Han smiled. "I'm not doing any good around here Leia. I'll go back down and talk to the kids. Then, once I make sure that all's well, I'm getting some stuff off the Falcon and bringing it up the room Luke always has for us. Stay here and make sure that Luke's gonna be okay for me."  
Leia looked hesitant to answer, but she shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'll call you if anything happens." she said, turning back toward the medical room.  
"Thanks," Han said, but deep in his heart, he felt that something was about to go terribly, horribly wrong.  
He thrust the feeling aside, thinking that this was not the time that he needed more bad news to think about. The turbolift stopped and Han stepped out into the cool night air of Yavin 4. It smelled good, and the moon light made everything seem more alive. He spied Jacen and Tenel Ka near the entrance of the woods, and Jaina and Lowbacca a respectful distance away near the temple.   
He walked over to them, and leaned against the hard stone wall of the temple. It felt cool against his back, and he welcomed the cool feeling. "Hey guys," he said, "What are you doing out here?"  
Jaina looked at Lowie and then at him. "I was wondering about that other ship that helped us, the Seeker if I remember correctly," she paused, "I wonder what happened to it, and who was in it. How did they know that we were there and that we were in trouble? How did they know about Uncle Luke?"  
Han sighed, smiling inwardly. "Well, if your mother's right, it was a Jedi that Luke had known when he was younger, about twelve years ago actually. Let's just say that they met under extreme conditions, and they got to know each other pretty well. But when this Jedi had somehow been blocked from the Force and had left to try to reclaim it, it devastated Luke, and I'm not sure if he's as over her as he says that he is," he said.  
He could tell that Jaina was interested now. "What was her name?" she asked.  
"Callista. But Callista had actually sort of died almost thirty years ago. But when Luke and two of his students named Cray and Nichos were trapped on the Eye of Palpatine, they found out the Callista had lived inside of the computer for many years," he said, "When Cray died, she let Callista have her body. Me, I really don't understand a lot of it, but Luke and Callista were bonded on a very deep level."  
"Does that sound like the Callista that Uncle Luke talks about, Lowie?" Jaina asked the wookiee standing next to her.   
He nodded and growled a question.  
"Was she Luke's girlfriend?" Han repeated, "Now, Lowie, that's not something you should be asking. But since you asked so very nicely, yes. Luke and Callista were very, very close to each other."  
"Why didn't Uncle Luke ever tell us about this?" Jaina asked quietly.  
Han blinked a couple of times. That was not a question he was expecting. "Well, maybe it was something he wanted to keep quiet. Or, some things are better cherished when you're the only one who knows about it. Only me and your mother knew about them, and even then, we didn't know what was going on," he said, "But if Leia's right, this is going to be really hard for people not to notice."  
"What do you mean?" Jaina asked.  
Han could tell that this could take awhile. "You know how Luke's one of the heroes of the galaxy and all. A lot of people admire him, and a lot of beings wish that they could meet him. Anything about him is instant news, and always near or on the front page of every news," Han said, "If anyone finds out what just happened to him, the galaxy will be in an uproar. A whole bunch of people will start thinking that something terrible is going to happen to them, and the next thing you know, the entire galaxy is in chaos."  
"Ooh. That wouldn't be good," Jaina said, "How do you think we're going to keep this quiet if someone comes to see him about something?"  
"I guess we'll have to either say that he's not here, or make sure that it's someone that we trust enough to tell the truth to. But either way, it'll still draw some suspicions. Go inside and get some sleep you two. You've earned it, and you look drop dead tired," Han said, "I'll go tell the love birds the same. Now, go on."  
Hesitantly, they went inside the turbolift and up to their own rooms. Han sighed and went over to Jacen and Tenel Ka.  
  
It was nearly an hour and a half later when he got back up to Leia and his room. He never had really understood why Luke had kept this room for them. They hardly ever visited, and when they did, they usually didn't stay very long. Although, Han had the feeling that this was sort of a guest room, and used for whoever really needed it, although both Luke and Leia told him otherwise.  
Han had an armful of stuff, as he stepped out of the turbolift. As much as he hated to admit it, he really liked this room. It was open on two sides, and let in plenty of sun during the day. It was always cool and comfortable, and had the type of smell that reminded him of things he loved.  
He walked in and set the things on the bed. Leia came out of a smaller room behind him, unusually quiet. He turned around, and immediately saw the stunned disbelief on her face. He stammered and finally found his words. "What is it?" he said, "What happened?"  
Leia just stood there and shook her head. Her mouth moved as if to make words, but no sound came out. Han walked over to her and put his arms around her, her small figure seeming smaller than usual. "Come on. What is it?" he repeated.  
"The doctors. . .they can't help Luke. He went into a coma, Han. The bacta tank doesn't work if someone's in a coma," she said.  
"Leia, that doesn't mean they can't help him. It just means that they have to do it the old fashioned way with newer equipment. It may take longer, but he's going to be fine," Han said. He has to be. "It's Luke."  
"How do you know?!" she snapped, "Han, Xizor did something to him. All that 2-1B can tell us is that it was a type of poison who's only antidote comes from Xizor's home planet. No one can go there. It was quarantined so many years ago because of a plague that wiped out the entire civilization."  
He felt her shudder against him. "There's no cure, Han."  
Han felt her knees buckle, and he gently sat down on the floor with her. His own knees had turned to jelly, and his numb mind thinking could that the only thing he could do was hold her closely and pray to any powers that be that there was a way to help Luke. Unwanted tears burned in his eyes, and, try as he might, against Leia's anguished sobs, he could not keep them from streaming down his face.  
  
  
Chapter Nineteen  
  
It was late morning by the time Jaina awoke. She rolled out of bed, and went over to her drawer. She picked out a tan flight suit that she felt was the most comfortable one she had. She brushed her straight brown hair, and put it back in a pony tail to keep it out of the way.   
She carefully pushed open the door between her room and Jacen's. He was sitting on the end of the bed, as awake as she was. "Mind if I come in?" she said.  
"Do I ever?" he retorted.  
She walked into his room, stopping to look at his collection of animals. "Did you feed them yet?" she asked.  
"Nope. I just woke up a couple of minutes ago, and haven't got around to it. Want to help feed them all?" he said.  
She smiled. Secretly, she loved feeding them, although she would never let on to anyone. "Sure, why not?"  
It was a huge job to accomplish, mainly because of the mind boggling number of specimens that Jacen had collected over the years. But some of his pets required more time than others, to adjust heat lamps and changing water filters and such. Many of the pets recognized her in some way, and got all hyper. "Calm down," she said, "It's just me."  
Nearly twenty minutes later, the job was done. "This feels like it takes more and more time every day," she said, "But it's kind of fun. Is your snake still in there?"  
"Yep. I've fixed the corner where he got out of last time, and the time before that. I have a feeling Raynar will be grateful."  
Jaina remembered the odd number of times the crystalline snake had gotten out of it's cage and gotten into Raynar's room across the hall and bitten him. Jaina was glad that the snake was not poisonous, and that it had no ill side effects that anyone was aware of.  
Jaina followed Jacen out into the hall. They walked down to the Great Hall that also served as the lecture hall. They heard Streen already giving his lesson and looked at each other, slightly alarmed. "Uh-oh. We must have slept in later than we thought," Jaina said, "I just hope Streen isn't going to yell at us."  
She heard footsteps down the hall and looked up. Tenel Ka was just in front of Lowie, running to make it in time. She stopped next to Jacen. "I hope we aren't that late," she said.  
"All of us slept in today, I guess," Jaina said, "Now I suppose that we're all in trouble."   
"Well, let's go in and find out," Jacen said, "But be real quiet, and try for some seats at the back of the room."  
Jaina nodded and followed Jacen and Tenel Ka into the room. They saw Streen standing in the front of the room, gesturing now and then. Fortunately for them, there were a lot of empty seats near the back of the room, and they all came in very quietly, quietly enough so no one heard them. They got a look from Streen, but that was all.  
Jaina sat through the lesson, trying to concentrate, but her mind kept wandering. Sooner than she realized, the lesson was over and Lowie was tapping her shoulder. Where had the time gone?   
She got up and went out into the hall. Jacen came up beside her. "I couldn't concentrate on the lesson. Did you catch any of it?" he said.  
She shook her head. "No. I couldn't concentrate either. It feels like I never even went. It's really weird."  
"Yeah," he said, "Do you want to talk to Mom and Dad, see what's up with Uncle Luke?"  
"I don't know," she answered, "Mom probably needs some rest. She's been through a lot, and she had a tough night. I was just about asleep when I got slapped with an emotion from her. It was something like a cross between horror and disbelief. I've never felt anything like that from her before."  
"Same here. I felt it too," Jacen said, "When do you think that ship is coming in? Didn't she say she'd be right behind us?"  
"Hmm. Yeah, she did. I guess she could have gotten into ship trouble, or stopped to look for something," Jaina said.  
"You have C.T. duty today, don't you?" Jacen asked.  
Jaina groaned. She hated Control Tower duty, whose only purpose was to watch for incoming ships and enemies. It was so boring. "Yeah. Why?"  
"You can watch for her ship, and tell us when it's coming so we can meet her at the landing platform," Jacen said.  
"You're right. But I still hate having C.T. duty, whether I'm actually watching for something or not."  
  
***  
  
Night had fallen over Yavin 4. Leia lay asleep in her bed, unaware that a ship was streaking through the atmosphere. When the ship landed, no one heard, and a figure stepped out and walked purposely into the Great Temple.  
Leia woke up with a sudden start several minutes later. Through the Force, she had felt a great sadness touched with grief. She fought to control her breathing, and slid quietly out of bed, pulling on her white silk robe and tying it tightly around her waist.   
She touched the turbolift controls and went to the medical floor. She stepped out onto the cool stone floor, her bare feet making no sound. She strode towards the room where Luke lay, and prepared herself for the worst.  
She stopped suddenly in the doorway. Over Luke stood a figure, clad in a smooth brown Jedi robe, the hood pulled up to shield the face. But despite the robe, Leia knew who it was.  
"Callista?" she called, her heart pounding in her chest.  
The figure turned sharply, her robe flying open to reveal Callista's face.  
Leia breathed a sigh of relief. "Leia," Callista said.  
Both rushed forward into an embrace, and Leia felt as if she had known Callista forever in that moment. When she finally broke the embrace, she saw that Callista fought to keep tears from streaming down her face. "How could I have let this happen?" Callista said, looking away from Leia at Luke.  
Leia stood next to Callista at Luke's bed and looked at Luke. He looked already dead, his skin gray and ashen, his body covered in bruises. He was barely breathing, the steady but shallow rise of his chest controlled by a machine.  
"You couldn't have done anything, Callista. Not even me or the twins were there to help him," Leia said softly.  
"No!" Callista said, "If I had come back when the Force had returned to me, this wouldn't have happened."  
"I'm sure that it would have. Nothing could have stopped this, I am very sure of that. Quit blaming yourself. There was nothing you could have done, and you helped us get away from those fighters."  
She looked at Callista's profile. There, she saw so many conflicting emotions: shame, helplessness, anger, longing, sorrow. "Are you going to be okay?" Leia asked.  
"Honestly? I don't know, Leia."   
"Come on, we'll go down to the dining hall and get you something to drink. We can come back up here later if you want," Leia said, steering Callista from the room.  
The dining hall was quiet and cool, and Leia programmed in a hot chocolate for herself and for Callista. She sat down at one of the tables.  
"What took you so long to get here?" Leia asked, sipping from her glass.  
Callista sat across from her. "I knew that whoever had kidnapped Luke had poisoned him, I could tell that on my ship. I thought that you knew, so I went back to the planet to try to find an antidote," she said, "I knew what I was looking for, on a molecular level. I didn't know what type of poison it was or is, so I searched through all the molecules in the post.  
"I felt very few bodies in the rubble, but I dug them out and gave them a decent burial. But I was still searching for those few molecules."  
Leia's heart skipped a beat, and a question jumped into her mind. "When you pulled the bodies out, was there a green skinned man?"  
"No, I don't recall seeing one. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that. Why do you ask?" Callista answered.  
Leia felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. "Heaven help us if he's still alive," she breathed, "Xizor. That was his name. He was the one that did that to Luke, and if he finds a way to get Luke again, we won't find him alive."  
Callista stopped drinking, and looked up. "I won't let that happen Leia. He will never, I mean never, get near Luke again."  
Leia smiled, sensing the determination emanating from the woman in front of her. "That's a reassuring thought. Did you ever find the molecules to the antibodies?"  
Callista reached into a pocket of her belt and withdrew a short bottle of bluish fluid. She held it between her fingers, looking at it in the light. "Yes, I found it," she said.  
Leia felt her heart skip, and she laughed with joy. "Callista, you just did more to help Luke than I ever could. That's the antibody that will stop the poison in his system from killing him," she said.  
Callista looked deep into Leia's eyes. "I certainly hope so," she said, "We should wait until morning to administer it though, to get both Streen's and 2-1B's approval."  
"You're right, of course," Leia said, "Streen's had a tough day. He had tons of trouble with a new student, and a few minor mishaps that he took care of outside. Luke being like that though, that's the hardest thing for him. I've never seen him so devastated, not since before you knew Luke."  
They drank the rest of their chocolate in silence, Leia not really sure what to think of Callista know that she was here. It bothered her that Callista hadn't come back when she had first gotten her powers back. But if she had only gotten them a few days or a few weeks ago. . .  
She left the question unanswered. When she had finished, she stood up. "Would you like me to find you a room?" she asked Callista.  
"Sure. My ship may be fast, but it's not much for the way of comfort. Not that I mind, but it would be nice to sleep stretched out for once. Lead the way."  
Leia walked down the hall and led her up to another guest room on that floor. It was small but had a good view of the rainforest. "Enjoy," she said, gesturing around the room, "You deserve nothing but the best here. I'd give you Luke's room, but his room isn't exactly the most comfortable, and I don't know how you'd feel in there."  
"You don't know what to think of me yet, do you?" Callista asked boldly.  
"No, not really. It's just that you've been away for so long, and you've never even sent us a message. I'm just not sure yet what to think."  
"Tell you what," Callista said, "To prove to you that I intend to stay, I'll help Streen deal with the students. I know lots of things, and how to deal with them. Unlike Luke, I had a complete training. I can help Leia, if you'll let me."  
Her voice sounded so sincere, Leia felt herself smile. "I'm sure Streen would love working with you. But are you sure you really want to do this?"  
"Leia, the only thing I'm more sure about is that I should have come back earlier."  
Leia hugged Callista in a fiercely glad embrace. "Thank you so much, Callista," she said, "I'll call you tomorrow, unless you want to start then."  
Callista backed a little bit away. "I do," she said, "I want to help as much as I can."  
  
***  
  
Han woke up in the early morning hours of Yavin 4's day. He felt tired and stiff, and utterly exhausted. He was tempted to roll over and doze off again, when he noticed that Leia wasn't beside him. He sat upright and looked around him. Leia's nightgown was thrown over a chair, and her slippers still in their place.  
Han stood up and put on some of his older clothes. They were thread-bare but comfortable nonetheless. They reminded him of his younger days when he could go traipsing through the galaxy on some crusade and not worry about leaving his kids behind.   
He touched the turbolift controls and waited for it to arrive. Then he moved down to the dining hall. No one would be awake yet, and he wouldn't have to worry about waiting in a line or being gawked at by the students. Although many had seen him on occasion, they still thought that it was fun and exciting to see Han Solo, general of the New Republic and husband to Leia Organa Solo.  
He emerged from the turbolift, and stopped when he saw Leia talking to Streen and a woman with malt brown hair. "Callista. . ." he whispered.  
As though she heard him, Callista's head turned in his direction. "Hi, Han," she said softly, as though she was embarrassed.  
"Callista. Long time no see," he said flippantly, "Where've you been?"  
"It's a long story," she said, "One that I'm not quite ready to tell."  
"Han," Leia said, "Callista came back last night while you were sleeping. I woke up, because of something I felt through the Force. She's volunteered to help Streen with the Academy while Luke's. . .while Luke is like that."  
"Yes, I'll gladly help in any way. . .I. . ." Callista said, trailing off.  
"What?" Leia asked, "What is it?"  
"There's another Jedi coming, a healer. They just entered the lower atmosphere," Callista said distantly, "She, I think it's a she, is coming here. I'm surprised I didn't feel it before now."  
"I never even felt it," Leia said.  
Callista smiled, one of the smiles that Han remembered from only when she had been with Luke here, on Yavin. "I've been trained longer than you have."  
"True," Streen said, "In that case, I'd best to make ready for our guest to arrive. Do you want me to drop that vial at the medcenter while I'm getting ready?"  
"Oh, yes," Leia said, "Please do. Tell 2-1B to use it as soon as he's sure. I have a feeling that this can't wait for very long."  
Han was beginning to feel left out of this conversation. "What vial?" he asked.  
Leia looked at him. "Didn't I tell you?" she asked.  
Han shook his head.  
"Callista found the antibodies to the poison in Luke. He's going to be fine," Leia said, a smile lighting up her face.  
Han's mouth fell open. She found the antidote? He laughed, and hugged Leia with a ferocious joy.  
The first few of Luke's students came in through the door, and made their way to the food processors, to make their breakfast. They glanced in Han's direction once or twice, obviously feeling the sense of relief coming from him. He didn't care. All that mattered to him was that Luke would be all right.   
He walked over to one of the processors, and made himself a lighter Corellian dish mainly used for brunches and light lunches. Han loved this dish, it had been one of his favorite even since he was a small child.   
After he had eaten, he went up to visit Luke. Han sank down into a chair next to Luke's bed. Although he knew that Luke would be all right eventually, it was hard not to think otherwise when he sat here. He grasped Luke's limp hand, and held it to his forehead. It was a motion he had picked up a long time ago by an old friend. "Luke," he said softly, "I don't really know if you can hear me or not, but hang in there. You'll be fine soon, you have to be. Leia told me about a dream that she had on the Falcon. It really disturbed her, more than she lets on. She's probably told you about it, one way or the other.  
"I know that you have to be in a lot of pain right now, but be strong. I know in my heart, in every fiber of my being, that you're going to be okay. Well, you may have a whole new bunch of scars to show off, even with the bacta therapy. I know you hate bacta tanks, and bacta itself, but it works. You'll probably have to be in there for a pretty long time. I've had to go through that once myself, with Nil Spaar. You were there for me then, and I'll be here for you, now and forever, whether you want it or not.  
"Callista's back. I'm not sure how to feel about that yet. She's going to help Streen run the academy for awhile. She feels really bad about all this, and she blames herself for it. The trouble is, I don't know if it's right for her to do that or not," he said.  
Then for awhile he just sat there with Luke, looking at the damage done by Xizor's attacks. The doctors had told him that there was a lot of internal damage too. Luke's face was cut and bruised. Xizor had raked his claws over Luke's face, leaving nasty looking gashes over Luke's left eye and cheek. Han could see where the concussions were on Luke's skull. Luke's ribs were a mess, black, blue, purplish-green. Huge gashes were on his chest, and the shallow sound of Luke's breath indicated that there was probably a rib poking one of his lungs. His shoulder was bandaged where a blaster bolt had gone through. The 2-1B had told Han the extent of Luke's lower half, saying that his knee was broken and his other leg fractured.   
Han shook his head and stood up, laying a hand on Luke's muscular stomach. "Be strong, kid," he said again, "I'm counting on you to pull through this."  
He heard his comm-link buzz from his belt. "Yeah," he said, yanking it off, "What's up?"  
"Han," came Leia's voice, "Where are you? Cilghal's here, the kids called her while we were on the Falcon."  
"I'm up by Luke. I was talking to him. It feels weird though. Why?"  
"Stay there. Callista, Cilghal and I are coming up there with Streen. He's been doing a good job, keeping this from the students for the past few days."  
"Good for him. I'll wait for you guys," he said, and clipped the comm-link back onto his belt.   
Han looked at Luke again, a fresh pang of guilt searing through his insides. Grey skin was never a good sign. But through it all, Luke looked calm and untroubled. "Wish I could be calm as you are, kid," he murmured.  
He looked up as three humans and one Calamarian entered the room. "Hi Cilghal," he said, "How are you?"  
He could see her yellowish-gold eyes open wider than Han had ever seen a Calamarian eye go before. She hurriedly walked to Luke's side, opposite Han. She slowly shook her head. "Master Skywalker. . ." she breathed, "What happened to him?"  
"Long story," Han said.  
"Please tell me later. Do the students know about this yet?" she asked.  
"I don't think so," Leia said, "Only Jacen, Tenel Ka, Jaina, and Lowie know about this other than us. Can you help him?"  
Cilghal nodded her head. "I will do the best that I can," she said, "I'll talk with the 2-1B first, to figure out specifics."  
"Streen," Leia said suddenly, "Do you think the antibodies will be ready yet?"  
"Yes, I'll go get 2-1B and drag him in here. He can answer Cilghal's questions, and give Luke the antibodies at the same time," Streen said, "By the way, have you seen King lately? He seems to have disappeared from view."  
"King felt kinda ashamed to be here, so he went out into the jungle for a few days. He said that he'd be back soon, but I'm not really sure that he will," Han replied.  
Streen nodded and left, and Han watched him go. He felt more comfortable with the wild haired man than he ever had in his life. It was beginning to feel like home here on Yavin 4, and Han shook his head with a strange kind of wonderment. Imagine that, thinking of Yavin 4 as home. Soon, Streen walked back in, with the green 2-1B in tow. "If you will excuse me for a moment," the 2-1B said, "I will administer the serum."  
"You heard the doc," Han said, "Let's give him some space. Cilghal, you stay here and see what you can do. One of us'll be back pretty soon."  
With that, he ushered everyone out of the room. Leia came up next to him as he walked down the hallway. "What's wrong?" she probed, "I got a picture of you holding Luke's hand in my mind. Did you?"  
He stopped. "Yeah," he said, "But, I'm not sure what's wrong. I know Luke's gonna be okay and all, but I have the feeling something's going to go wrong in the nearer future, and it has to do with Luke again."  
She nodded, a faraway look to her eyes. "Me too. It's not really the Force, just combat instincts. Every part of me yells that something's wrong," she said.  
Callista nodded. "I, too, have this creepy feeling. It's from some part of the Force, but I don't know how to interpret it. I have never felt anything like it before, and I am nearly a Master now, if I'm not already."  
Streen walked beside Han. "Then I guess we'd all better keep an eye out for strange happenings, even when everything seems to be going okay. Han, you and Leia should too, even though you may be gone soon." he said.  
"Right," Han said, "But we're not leaving until Luke's up and better. I'm hanging around for a couple of weeks after, just to make sure that everything's going smoothly."  
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Streen said, "We can use all the help we can get up here, even though we've got plenty. You've dealt with Force strong children before, and your experience will help us all."  
Callista shot a look at Han. He smiled back at her, because he suspected that she knew what he was thinking. He wasn't just hanging around to see what they do all day, he wanted to see what was going to happen between her and Luke. He wanted to be there to see whatever went on. Contrary to the image he usually projected, he had a very nosy streak in him, a secret little part of him that wanted to know everything.  
Han went down to the dining hall then. He wanted to see Jacen and Jaina before they got started with all of their lessons and chores. He hadn't seen them for the past few days other than once and a while, and he always enjoyed talking to them.   
He found the hall filled with students, some sitting at the tables, some standing, some leaning against the walls or sitting on the floor. It wasn't crowded enough to force anyone to eat like that, in fact, it was spacious enough for there to be a hundred other people in the room comfortably. It was just that some preferred the floor to tables, and others couldn't sit down. Some did it just for a change of pace, but others because of their cultural upbringings and religions. Han thought it strange that some people still believed in religions with the Force all around them. Maybe it was just habit that kept them tied to it, or the Force could be a big part of it.  
He spied Jacen and Tenel Ka sitting across from Jaina and Lowie at a table on the far side of the room, near a bunch of plants that made the room look kind of exotic. Han smiled in spite of himself. He never thought of Luke as much of a designer, but the kid had it where it counted, making everyplace as comfortable for everyone as he could, except for himself. Han's smile turned into a barely noticeable frown. He had talked to Tionne yesterday and found that Luke scarcely used his quarters, even when he was drop dead tired. He pushes himself way too hard, Han thought.  
He stopped at the table. "Hi, Dad," Jaina said, "How long have you been up?"  
"Longer than you have."  
"How's Uncle Luke?" Jacen asked him.  
Han sighed. "He's doing a little bit better. Still in a coma though. How are you guys coping with all of this?" he asked.  
"I never knew that it was this hard to have someone you love like this. Callista won't admit it, but when she's teaching with Streen, you can feel the grief emanating from her," Jaina said, "I remember when the Yevetha made a mess out of you, but, you weren't like that for very long, and I only saw you after you had gotten better somewhat."  
"I have known Master Skywalker for a very long time, and it is hard to see him like this, and not be able to do anything about it," Tenel Ka said.  
Han looked at her in surprise. "I thought you had only just met Luke when you came here," he said.  
She shook her head. "He has known me ever since I was born. There were a few weeks when he had left with no explanation, but that was when my mother was giving birth to me," she explained, "My Mother and Father had asked for him to be there."  
Han nodded thoughtfully.  
"So, technically," Jacen said, "He's your Hold-Father."  
"Yes," Tenel Ka said, "My mother's cousin has asked if I could ask Master Skywalker if he would attend her birthing. She had asked if I thought that it was a good idea. That is a question that I have been pondering for weeks."  
"I guess Uncle Luke's in popular demand," Jaina said.  
"Hmm," Han said, "Luke had never told me about that before. I guess I do learn something every day. What about you Lowie? You've been awfully quiet."   
He nodded that he was dealing well with it.  
"Glad you're so outspoken," Han said, "No offense or anything."  
Lowie growled a "none taken".  
"We'd better get going," Jacen said, "Or we'll be late again for Streen's lesson."  
Han looked around the hall. Nearly all of the students had left. He didn't even notice it. I must be more tired than I thought! It wasn't like him not to notice things like that. Tenel Ka's news must have shocked him more than he thought.  
"By all means," he said, making a sweeping gesture towards the Grand Hall, "Do go and learn your lessons."  
Jacen made a version of Han's lopsided smile back at him. "Don't worry," he said.  
Han watched them go. He was hit with a pang of sadness, seeing how grown up that his children were. Oh, well, he thought, they have to grow up sometime.  
Then he walked out into the dense forests of Yavin 4, looking for the man that had probably overall saved his best friend's life.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty  
  
Days past. Days turned into a week, a week into two weeks. Leia had returned to Coruscant, the call of her duties to the New Republic too great to ignore. Han had stayed as he had planned, and King had come in from the rainforests a few days ago.   
Callista was teaching Luke's students about an important Jedi skill called battle meditation, when Streen had pulled her off to the side. "What is so important that you must interrupt my lesson to your students?" she asked.  
"Forgive me," he said, "I just wanted to tell you, Luke was just pulled out of the tank. He's been in there ever since he came out of the coma a week and a half ago. He should be awake soon, and I thought that you might want to talk to him."  
Callista's mind filled with joy. Her breath escaped her lips, and her heart pounded against her chest. "Thank you for telling me, Streen." she said.  
"Not a problem. After all you've done here, I regret that I can't do more."  
She walked back to her students, some of the guilt she had felt had lifted from her heart.  
  
The next day, she was teaching yet another lesson about battle meditation. She had gone to see Luke yesterday, but he hadn't been awake yet. Being in a bacta tank for that long sucked your strength, and played havoc with you're body's metabolism. For all of the good they did though, it was a small price to pay.  
She was at the end of her lesson and was just about to dismiss the students when the was a call from the back of the chamber. "You all have free time until further notice. You are all dismissed."  
Callista's gaze searched the back of the chamber, and stopped on a figure just barely noticeable in a shaded doorway. Flinging prestige aside, she ran forward, down the steps and full speed across the floor. She barely stopped in front of the figure. Keen blue eyes looked into her own rain colored eyes.  
Luke was awake.  
And he was standing just inches in front of her.  
"You. . ." she stammered, "You shouldn't be up yet. You're not strong enough."  
He laughed a little, a small chuckle that reminded her of how much she had missed him over the years. "I heard that you were here. I couldn't wait to see you."  
She touched his face carefully, as though he might disappear if she did. It was still bruised despite the days in the bacta tank, but it looked much better than it had when she had first seen him the night Leia had found her. "How are you feeling?" she asked.  
"Better, but still a little bit shaky. What about you?"  
"Me?" she laughed, "Fine, I guess. Have. . .have you had a good road?"  
"Hmm. We've been talking to Ligeus haven't we?" Luke said.  
"Not lately. He passed away a few years ago. I was truly sorry to see him go. He was a very good friend, and he helped me learn a lot about myself. But, yes. He told me that he had told you the same thing.  
"I just should have come back sooner. I caused you who knows how may years of pain," she paused as a group of students walked past, "And could have prevented all of this from happening."  
"No," he said softly, "No one could have. Callista, things happen. Not everybody deserves it, but it still happens. I deserved it. Who knows how many people I've killed over the years. I consider this. . .payback, almost."  
"How, in all of your reasoning, could you possibly think that?!" she exclaimed, "You've saved countless lives, brought back the Jedi, saved the New Republic by yourself more times than anyone else in history. Did Leia tell you about her promotion?"  
He nodded his head. "I don't have any idea of what that means. I can't possibly be that important to the fate of the galaxy. Many years ago, maybe. But not now."  
"You never know," she said, "You hungry? I haven't had a bite to eat all day."  
"No mush. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat that stuff again."  
He put his arm around her waist and vice versa, and they walked down the hall.  
Callista watched all of the students stare at them as they walked into the dining hall. They were greeted by several students as they walked by. Callista did a routine scan of the students and found that they all had one question on their minds: How did Master Skywalker get those bruises? That question was followed by where was he? and what was he doing?  
Callista tried to ignore their thoughts. She sat down with Luke at a table on the far side of the room. For a long time, they just sat there and talked, telling each other what had happened over the years. Callista felt more at ease here, with Luke, than she had ever since she had come to Yavin 4.  
It had been nearly an hour when Han and another person walked up to their table. "Hi, Han," Callista said, "Who's your friend?"  
"King," the man said, extending his hand, "Mac King."  
She took his hand and shook it. He was surprisingly strong, which was probably why he was wearing such a loose fitting shirt. "Hey Luke, how are you doing?" Han asked, sitting down at the table next to Callista.  
"Better. How long have you been here King?"  
Callista looked at the man. He looked sullen and exhausted, guilty but betrayed. "I've been here ever since we got here. I just sorta took a real long hike out back into the forest. This is a really nice place you've got set up here. Leia showed me around a little before she left," he said in a rich tenor voice that made Callista's insight tingle.  
He was the one that had been responsible for all of this. And yet, he wasn't. Confused, she shook her head. Luke looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she just shrugged, casting off the feeling.  
King continued. "I went back out by the tree and thought, and thought, and did some more thinking. I still have no idea what Zang could have possibly done to me to force me to. . .to make me do that. But I told you I'd be here when you woke up didn't I? And here I am."  
Well, that explains that, Callista thought.  
"Thanks. Han, I thought you would have gone with Leia. Why are you still here?"  
"Same reason he is," Han told Luke.  
"I'm sure," Luke said.  
He knows, Callista thought, I guess there's no use trying to hide anything from him. By now, he's probably more experienced in the Force than I am.  
Because the students had free time, they four talked late into the afternoon.  
  
***  
  
Leia was in her quarters, looking at documents that demanded her personal attention when a call came for her.  
"What now?" she grumbled into the air, "Patch it through," she told the computer.  
She turned to look at the screen behind her where her calls came. When the call finally processed, she was surprised to see Han's face. "Han!" she exclaimed, "It's good to see you. What's going on at the academy?"  
Leia could see that Han could barely contain his excitement. "Hi, Leia. It's going to happen. The kid's gettin' married," he said, the words tumbling out of his mouth.  
"What?!" she exclaimed, "Luke? Luke's getting married? When?"  
"I don't know yet. They haven't set a date," he said, "but I assume that it'll be soon. They talked for not even a day. I would have never believed that the kid was that smooth if I hadn't been there to hear it myself."  
Leia smiled. "Luke asked?"  
Han scrunched up his face. "Um, sort of. It's strange. They both asked at the same time. The words were almost exact, too. It's as if they planned it."  
The truth struck Leia. "They must be linked!" she exclaimed.  
"Huh?" Han asked, "What do you mean 'linked'?"  
Leia searched frantically for the words. "It's like being telepathically bonded. Luke and I are almost there, we might be but I'm not sure, but I know that Jaina and Jacen are. Teneniel Djo and Isolder might be too, to name a few examples."  
"Oh, I see. Something like the semi-mystical twin thing."  
"From the way you describe it, Han, it might be that 'semi-mystical twin thing'. Speaking of Luke, how's he doing?"  
"He's still a little bruised," Han said, "and he's got just as much energy in him as he usually does. He seems a little less calm though. No, that isn't the right word. He seems like he's ready to live a little."  
"After all these years, I think he deserves it. He's been prodded, poked, torn, broken, cast out, feared, never really allowed to live. Even on Tatooine. Now, he's finally got a chance to be happy, and I can't blame him for taking it," Leia said.  
"True. Did you ever find out what happened to Xizor?"   
Leia felt a knot form in her stomach. She shook her head. "No," she said, "and to tell you truthfully, it bugs me more than anything else. Han, he could still be out there. I know Callista said that she'd protect Luke as much as she could, but she can't be everywhere at once. What if Xizor's still alive and comes after Luke again?"  
"We could always leave guards here around Luke."  
"Oh, I'm sure that he'd appreciate that," she said sarcastically, "But seriously. I don't know what to do. The only person I've told about Luke is Admiral Ackbar. Other than that, the word hasn't left my mouth. Do the students know yet?"  
"No. I don't know what they think. They've seen Luke though. They know that something happened. For all I know, they could be thinking that it was a rough mission that the New Republic sent him on."  
"Hmm. It's a good enough story for now. Don't let them know," Leia said.  
"Got it. How's Anakin?" Han asked.  
"Okay. He misses his Dad though. I think he'll be glad to hear that he's going to Yavin 4, if that's where Luke and Callista are getting married at. If not. . .well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Leia said.  
"Tell Anakin that I miss him, too. What do you think. . ."  
"Luke!" Leia interrupted, seeing her brother poke his head into the door behind the commscreen.  
"Sorry," she heard him say, "I didn't know that you were in here Han. Hi, Leia."  
Han turned away from the screen to look in Luke's direction. Leia couldn't hear what Han said to him, but she could see him motion Luke over.  
"No, I shouldn't. I've got things to do. My entire schedule for today was completely screwed up, and they're things I have to do. But I'll talk to you later. Both of you," he said.  
"Are you okay?" Leia asked before he turned away.  
A smile crossed Luke's face. "Fine," he said, "Later."  
And then he turned to leave. Leia watched him go. "I have a feeling that he knows about Xizor. I touched him just barely when he was speaking, and he's still shakier than he looks. Keep an eye on him, Han. I think he knows more than he's telling."  
"Yeah," Han said, still looking at the doorway where Luke had been standing, "I agree with you there. Don't worry. I will. I'll see you later, okay?"  
Leia nodded her head. "Right, later. Promise me right know though that you're not going to spy on Luke."  
Han turned towards the screen, wearing one of those lopsided grins that he was so famous for. "Me? Spy on Luke? Nah. But fine, if you don't want me to, I promise, I won't. G'bye. Say good night to Anakin for me," he said.  
"I will. Good-bye."  
She reached out and touched the off button just under the screen. She sighed and sat back in her chair. She looked at her chrono, and was surprised to see that it was past midnight. She tried to stifle the yawn that escaped her, but the attempt was unsuccessful.  
Leia got up and headed for her bedroom.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-One  
  
Leia was watching the news a week later. It wasn't something she normally did, but it was one of the small pleasures she never took for granted. Normally, she had to find things out when somebody told her about it, not just off of the standard public news systems. She had just missed the opening.  
". . .Good afternoon. This is Chandra Faya for System 10 News," the woman said, "Our top story today is. . .wait. . .I'm getting a broadcast," she said, holding her hand to her ear to better hear the tiny jack that allowed her to intercept info broadcasts.  
"I have just received unconfirmed word from a reliable source that the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is to be wed in two weeks on Yavin 4. Again, I have just received word from a reliable source that Luke Skywalker. . ,"  
Leia stared, mouth agape, at the screen. She immediately punched in the Academy's number on her commscreen, labeled priority red. Almost immediately she got a response. Luke's face appeared on the screen. "Uh, hi Leia," he said when he saw her, "What's up?"  
"System 10 just found out that you were getting married. In two weeks. Is it true?" she asked, flipping throughout the rest of the news systems, "The rest of the systems all have the same reports, just coming in slower."  
"That's what we're planning, but nothing was finalized. Most of the students know though. They've been talking about it constantly. How did System 10 find out?" he asked.  
Leia looked into his face. There were just the barest traces of bruises, but the new scars over his left eye were still more noticeable. "I don't know. One of the student's calls must have been intercepted, I guess. Are you up to coming to Coruscant and clearing all of this up?"  
"Now? I guess so, but if System 10 knows, and everybody else, there will be reporters here in less than a day. Hours even," he said. "I could just wait for them."  
"No, Luke. Believe me, you don't want that. Come here. Bring Callista with you," Leia said, still keeping a loose eye on the news reports, "Why don't you just bring everybody? I'm sure that your students would love to see Coruscant."  
"Leia. . ." he began to say.  
"Please, Luke. This way, you can address everyone in the galaxy. You can't from Yavin 4. Besides, it's been awhile since you've been here," Leia told him.  
He sighed, one of frustration. "Fine. Every line I have here is lit up. Probably reporters. How do you deal with this all the time?"  
"I ignore them," Leia said simply.  
"Easy for you to say. So what should I do about them?"  
"Just leave. Let them wait for awhile."  
He laughed. "I'll be there soon. You'd better be there to meet me. I can't take the students though. They have things to do. Besides, I have to have something keep Tionne and Streen busy."  
"Okay. Should I alert the systems or not?" Leia asked.  
"Try not to let them know. I'm sure they'll find out eventually though. I'll see you when I get there."  
"Right. Watch out for reporters," she said, and then hung up.  
She shook her head with bemused laughter. I have got to learn how reporters find these things out.  
  
***  
  
She met Luke and Callista on a special "no reporters beyond this point" landing pad that took her almost directly to either her quarters or to the Conference Room.   
"Hi Luke, Callista," she said, "I did my best not to let the reporters know, but they still found out. That's why I had you land all the way up here. Press'll be inside though. I had to fight my way through to get out here. Brace yourselves."   
"Goody, press. Some of the galaxies best spies, all of their work perfectly legal," Callista said to her ironically.  
"Leia, what about your private shuttle?" Luke asked.  
"Broke. Even if it was working, the driver's sick. And palace security won't let anyone else fly the thing but him," Leia answered.  
"Don't you just love them? Ready?" Luke asked.  
"Always."  
She led them into the palace. They press must have heard them coming, for questions started before the were even in the door. Luke put his arm around Callista's waist and Leia led them into the hall.   
The hall was packed with reporters from every different news system on Coruscant and beyond. The noise level assaulted their ears with a surprising loudness. "Master Skywalker. . ," reporters yelled asking questions that Leia couldn't even understand.  
She turned back and whispered into Luke's ear, "Let me handle this."  
"Please," he said, "Give it your best shot."  
"Attention!!" she yelled, "Attention!"  
It felt odd to really yell, and it made her throat sting a little. But it was worth it. Almost immediately the reporters questions died down, and slowly stopped.  
"Thank you," she said. "Luke will be giving a speech in the Conference Room in an hour. All questions will cease until after everyone is done speaking. Clear?"  
She heard the mumble rip through the group of reporters. She looked back at Luke who nodded approvingly. "Come on, you two. Let us amscray before they start up again. Follow me."  
She led them to her quarters, the reporters strangely silent. "Wow. What did you two do to them?" she asked. "They were dead quiet."  
"Let's say something had their tongues," Callista said.  
Leia looked at Luke. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.  
"We did," Luke said.   
"Uncle Luke!" Leia heard off to her right.  
Anakin came running forward, a fast moving bundle of eleven year old glee. He grabbed Luke around the waist, making Luke stumble back a little bit. At that speed, Anakin would have knocked her to the ground.  
"Hi there, Anakin!" Luke said, ruffling the brown hair on him. "How are you?"  
"Great. I haven't seen you in so long! How have you been?" Anakin answered, finally letting go of Luke's waist.  
"I've been up and down," Luke said. "You remember Callista, right?"  
Anakin nodded. "She's here?"  
"Yes," Callista said from beside Leia, "I'm right here. You've gotten so big! I hardly recognized you!"  
Leia watched her son smile. "All right, you three. Callista, I'm borrowing your husband-to-be. Anakin, why don't you show Callista what you've done?"  
She saw Anakin's eye's widen. "Uncle Luke, you and Callista are getting married?"  
"Yep. It's been a long time in coming too," Luke answered.  
"Congratulations. Both of you. C'mon Callista," Anakin said, dragging Callista towards his room to show her everything he'd done. Either that, or to get some juicy secrets from her. He was becoming quite the prankster.  
"So, what's up?" Luke asked as Leia herded him into the kitchen.  
"What are you going to say at your speech?" Leia asked.  
"Yes, that I am getting married but that we don't have a date set yet. Nothing fancy. Why?"  
"No reason," she said quickly, "Luke, Xizor might still be alive."  
"I know. I heard you when you were talking to me on Yavin 4. I could hear everyone, most of the time anyway, but it's like I heard it from a long distance away," he said, combing a hand through his hair.  
"I was wondering about that. You were lucky, Luke. Most people don't come out of coma's when they're in as bad a shape as you were," Leia said, "What if the reporters bring up the question of 'what happened to you?'? They'll undoubtedly see the bruises and the scars you still have."  
He shook his head. "I don't know. What can I say? Almost everybody knows that my Academy isn't that rough, and that I haven't gone on a mission lately that they know about."  
"Well," Leia said, "That's a good of excuse as any. Just tell them that you were on a mission, and not at liberty to speak of it. If things get a little too pointed up there, give me a shout. I'll be up on the platform with you. I can always cut in, or have a reporter removed if he or she or it gets a little too ambitious."  
"Thanks," he said, smiling. "It's nice to know that you'll be up there. Are you saying anything?"  
"I'll introduce you, if you want."  
"I'm sure they'll know who I am," he said.  
"Not for the reporters," Leia quipped, "For the rest of the galaxy who doesn't know you."  
"Now, wait a minute," Luke said, "You never said anything about going live galaxy-wide."  
"Well, you are. All of the systems know and are prepared for it. I put out a wide span info broadcast when you were coming and told them."  
"And when were you planning on telling me?" Luke asked.  
"I just assumed that you would know," Leia said innocently.  
"Right. Should I tell Callista?"  
"Of course. Besides, we'd better go make sure that Anakin isn't trying to steal her away from you. He's always had a soft spot for her, you know," Leia said.  
  
***  
  
Luke sat behind the stage of the Conference Room one hour later. Callista had declined to come, "she was camera shy", had been her excuse. Luke knew though that she just didn't want to be there. And he didn't blame her. He really didn't want to be doing this either, but he didn't have much of a choice.  
At precisely 6:00 (Coruscant time), he heard the announcer speak.  
". . .We interrupt the program for a special announcement from the Imperial Palace on Coruscant."  
Then he heard Leia speak. Right now he was surprised that he didn't have any butterflies in his stomach. Speaking in front of an audience had never been his strong point.   
"We are sorry for the interruption. I am President Leia Organa Solo, and I have interrupted your programmings because of a rumored marriage. Yesterday, on System 10 News, many of us heard first this rumor. All other news systems soon followed in repeating this rumor.   
"The rumor was that my brother, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, will be getting married in two weeks from yesterday. In order to clarify this, I have invited him to be here today. May I present, Luke Skywalker."  
He took one last deep breath and then walked out onto the stage.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Two  
  
Luke stood next to Leia after the hour long broadcast, shaking the hand of every reporter that walked out of the door.   
He had been surprised at how easily his speech had come to him. "Good-bye," he said for what seemed like the hundredth time, interrupting his train of thought.  
Nearly the last of them, he thought with some relief. It had been Leia's idea to personally bid farewell to everyone who had come to the broadcast, and Luke was sorry he hadn't protested harder. For some reason, he felt uneasy right now.   
Two more people stood in line, waiting for the reporter in front of them to be finished asking him just "one last question". He was surprised at how well everyone had taken standing in line.  
He shook the next man's hand as Leia took the one's he had just shaken. "Master Skywalker!" the man said enthusiastically, using both hands to pump his arm, "I'm so pleased to meet you finally."  
The man's long nails were digging into his arm, but he didn't let any of the pain show on his face. "Pleasure's mine," he said.  
The man continued. "He's watching, you know. Watching every move you make. Waiting for the perfect time."  
What is he talking about? Luke thought. "Excuse me?"  
"He's waiting," the man said again.  
With that, the man dug his nails\claws into Luke's arm, drawing enough blood to have a few drops splatter to the floor. The man's claws raked down through his wrist before Leia and the guards noticed anything.  
The guards rushed forward and pulled the man off of Luke, wrestling his arms behind him. Leia turned to Luke to try to help stop the blood spurting from his wrist. The man had obviously gotten to the main artery there, and Luke was having a hard time stopping it. The last reporter stood there, a little shocked.  
"Take any weapons away from him and take him down to detention!" Leia said from beside him, "You, run and get the emergency med kit so I can stop this."  
The guards hauled the man out through the door, screaming all the way. "He's watching you! He's watching! You can't escape him, Skywalker! No one can!" the man repeated, over and over again until he was out of the range of Luke's hearing.  
Leia's hands helped stop the blood coming from his arm, but even their combined efforts could not stop it completely. "It's okay, Leia," Luke said, trying to calm her down somewhat, "It's just a bad cut, it's not going to kill me."  
She started a little bit. "Sorry," she said, "I think I know what that guy was talking about."  
The guard place the med kit by them and moved out of the room, taking the last reporter with him and shutting the door. Leia moved her hands to open the kit, and get out a large gauze to wrap around his arm.  
"Yeah. I have a feeling that I know too. Xizor's still alive. He's got to be, otherwise I doubt that this would have occurred," Luke said, allowing her to wrap it tightly around his cut.  
"I think so. We've got to tell Callista about this."  
Luke instinctively reached through the Force to check on Callista and Anakin. He stretched, and found them. It was chaos.  
"Callista!" he yelled, jerking back.  
He stood up and went out the door. "Luke. . .what?" Leia said as she came out behind him. "Stop, Luke! Your arm. . ."  
"I'll worry about that later! Anakin and Callista are in trouble!"  
He felt the panic surge out of Leia and she ran as fast as she could behind him.  
At the end of the hallway was the Presidential suite, the guards who had been posted outside of it no where to be found. Luke hit the door release, it was keyed to open at his fingerprint.  
A blaster bolt zoomed at his head, and he just barely ducked as the door opened. "Luke!" Callista shouted over the noise, "Watch out!"  
Luke felt the ripple of attack from behind him, and lunged forward and rolled just as a chain snapped across where his head had just been.  
He stole a look at Callista who was defending Anakin in the corner. She had her lightsaber out, and was deflecting blaster bolts as they stabbed at her and Anakin. Luke stood up and kicked high, smashing his boot into the chest of an alien who was just behind him.  
He felt Leia still out in the hall, talking on her comm, alerting the palace security to the presence of the henchmen. Stay out there! he called to her through the Force.  
He turned to face alien he had kicked, and was surprised to find that he was still standing. Again he kicked, aiming to where the midsection was.   
His foot never connected.  
Whoever had the chain had thrown it around his neck and pulled back. Luke's hands went automatically to it, trying to stop it from choking him. He couldn't get his fingers around it though.  
He choked, and fell down to his knees. He felt the man doing something, tightening the chain and putting a clasp on it. The clasp in place, the man grabbed his hair and pulled him up. The held Luke's arms behind his back, and was wrapping the chain around Luke's wrists. Luke used the Force and snapped the chain clasp, then pulled his hands free. He concentrated on the Force, and made the man behind him think that he had just been seriously hurt. The man fell, grabbing at his knee as if it had been broken. Luke let the man's mind go, and pulled the chain away from his throat.  
Then Luke kicked the man's knee, probably breaking for real. That man was down for the count. Again the alien came at him.   
Luke pushed backwards, he thought shoving himself far enough out of the alien's reach to be just missed. He heard someone yell in pain as Callista either kicked them or took off something with her lightsaber.  
The alien's reach, Luke thought that it was a Barabel but it didn't have a tail, was longer than he had thought. It connected with his right shoulder, knocking his other forward enough for the alien to grasp it.  
Luke tried to knock the alien's hand off his shoulder with a teras kasi style move, but the alien's grip was far stronger than he had expected. It grabbed his right arm around his wound, and held fast.  
Luke sensed that he'd be in big trouble if he didn't do something very soon. He could feel its intent: to throw him into the wall on the other side of the room. Luke pulled, shoved, and tried to trip the alien, but his efforts were futile. The alien, who was at least a foot taller than Luke, picked him up over his head and threw him.  
Luke flew through the air, and slammed into the wall. Something splintered beneath his back, leaving small pieces of something sharp. His breath was knocked out of him as he slid to the floor. He struggled back to his feet. The alien was still lumbering after him, it's intent perfectly clear.  
What's taking Security so long? he thought They're always here in unbelievable time, it's what they're known for. And this is the Presidential Suite. Leia's one of the most important people in the New Republic. So where are they?  
There was no where to go. He was cornered, which had probably been the alien's intent all along. He ducked low as the alien's fist smashed into the wall where his head had just been. Luke let the Force flow through him again and picked the alien up. Shocked, the alien jerked back. It was the reaction Luke had been hoping for. He let the alien tumble to the floor. The alien landed with a puff of air and a loud thump.  
His breath was finally returning to him, and Luke leaped over the fallen alien, carefully avoiding it's flailing arms. He ran forward at one of the four assailants attacking Callista and Anakin.   
Again he leaped, only this time into a flying kick that landed in the middle of the gunman's upper back. The man stumbled forward, and smacked into the wall. He fell, unconscious.  
He could hear the alien coming up behind him. But before he could move, it grabbed Luke in a bear hug that made Luke's ribs grind. He couldn't breath. His arms were pinned to his sides, and his feet were off the floor. "Uncle Luke!" he heard Anakin shouting.  
He could feel the alien's hot breath against the back of his neck. He leaned forward and heard a snap of sharp teeth behind him. Luke's vision was beginning to black at the edges. He tried to twist out of the alien's steel-like clutches. It didn't help and only succeeded in making the alien squeeze harder. He hadn't gotten his wind back from being thrown against the wall before the alien picked him up. The bear hug had forced all of the air he'd gotten back out of him.   
"Uncle Luke!" Anakin called again.  
Luke struggled in the alien's powerful grip, but to no avail. He heard Leia shout his name behind him. She'd probably picked up on his desperate need for air. Luke felt something hit the alien's back, but the alien was relentless. Leia was next to him now, trying to pry the alien's arms off of him. It shoved her to the floor with a swift kick of it's foot, and kicked her away.   
"Leia! Are you okay?" Callista shouted.  
"Don't worry about me! We've got to help Luke."  
Luke's head was starting to spin, but still he twisted and strained to escape. Somewhere deep inside him, something grew, powerful.   
All of a sudden it erupted. A huge quantity of the Force threw the alien clear into the hall, pushing him down to hit the far wall. Luke fell to the floor, panting.  
He saw out of the corner of his eye, the palace security that was just coming into the door.  
The last three gunmen around Callista and Anakin turned towards the palace security guards, giving Callista the opening that she needed. She whirled in a kick that caught all three on the heads, knocking them to the floor.  
Leia was next to him, her eyes wide as she put an arm around his shoulders.  
"H-How did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.  
"Do what?" he gasped.  
She helped him to his feet. "That," she said, turning him down towards the hall where the alien had been thrown.  
Luke couldn't believe his eyes. "I threw him all the way down there?" he asked, shocked.  
"You would have thrown him farther but the wall was in the way," Callista said, coming over next to him and letting the guards take everyone out of the room. "It was so bright. Your strength just multiplied by more than double, or," she continued, "you may have just tapped your full potential."  
Luke shook his head. Full potential? "I don't know what that was," he said truthfully, rubbing his neck where the chain had been.  
"Are you okay?" Callista asked, "I saw that guy throw you. That must have hurt."  
"Yeah, tell me about it."  
"Uncle Luke!" Anakin said, running up to him and throwing his arms around Luke's waist. "I was so afraid that guy was going to kill you!"  
"Don't worry," Luke said soothingly, "No one here would have let that happen."The man that had almost choked Luke with the chain struggled against his guards. The guards, though strong and well trained, were unable to keep the desperate man from pushing away from them. He ran at Luke.  
"I won't let them take me!" the man shouted.  
He pulled a vibroblade from under his shirt and swiped it at all three of them. Luke sensed it and pushed Leia and Anakin back, and Callista stepped back. It caught her grey flight suit and tore it, making a cut on her leg that would hardly hurt her. It cut open Luke's leg making a gash, but nothing that would seriously harm him.  
Callista took her moment. She kicked the man in the stomach and shoved him to the floor, bending his arm behind his back and taking the blade from his hand.  
She let the men take him from the room. "Don't forget about the alien down the hall," Leia said to them before the left.  
They nodded and left. "Now," Leia said, "Let me patch up your arm. Do you think you'll need anything for your leg?"   
"No, it'll be okay," Luke said.  
"Why?" Callista asked, "What happened to your arm?"  
Luke held up his arm. It hurt more than he was willing to admit. Blood had now drenched his sleeve, but it had stopped bleeding a little.  
"Some guy posing as a reporter got into the Conference Room and made a mess with his nails or claws or whatever you want to call them," Leia said. "Anakin, why don't you go into your room until we get this cleaned up?"  
"Okay," Anakin said glumly.  
His blue eyes flashed at Luke. Leia had always told Luke that Anakin was so much like him, he even had his eyes. And it was true. Leia had brown eyes, as did Han, Jaina, and Jacen. Luke was the only one with blue besides Anakin.  
"You heard your mother," Luke said, "Don't look at me for help."  
Anakin headed towards his room.  
"Callista," Leia said, "The guy that did this to Luke's arm was from Xizor. I'm willing to bet that those hitmen were from him, too."  
"I'll second that," Luke said.  
Callista nodded her head. "And I'm willing to bet that they were only after Luke," she said. "None of the hitmen did any really serious fighting with me, only when Luke came through the door. Then they tried to kill him."  
"We'd better get back to Yavin, though," Luke said. "If these guys were after me, they'll be looking for me there. And if I'm not there, they might go after the students."  
Leia nodded. "Let me take care of your arm first," she said.  
She drug him into the kitchen and took some gauze and wrapped it around his arm. Despite both his and Callista's protests, she put slave on their cuts. Leia made him take off his shirt and wash it. He looked at Callista for help. "Hey, don't look at me for help," she said ironically.  
He reluctantly did so, and borrowed one of Han's shirts. It was a little big for him. Luke and Callista helped her Leia to clean up the mess in the foyer somewhat before Anakin barged in and demanded that they tell him what was going on. This time, Leia was the one to protest. She won the argument, saying that reporters might find out.   
Soon, Luke was piloting the craft back to Yavin 4. He saw Leia standing on the platform as he took off, and he touched her presence again as he soared away from the palace. He'd never let her know, but he was as shaken as she was.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Three  
  
The next few weeks, Leia had found out that there had been two attacks made at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Both times, no one had been seriously hurt, but there were a few bruises and some minor cuts.  
Luke had called her both times. "They're getting more savage every time. It worries me, because I have a feeling that Xizor's hitmen will start going after my students. They haven't yet, but they might," he had said last time.  
Leia had also received good news last time. Luke's wedding date had been finalized. And it was in ten days from today.  
Leia breathed deep the air on Yavin 4. It was sweet and moist, full of life. Han sat next to her in a clearing where a big tree stood, towering against the tiny underbrush plants. Little animals darted across, some ignoring them, some paying them every attention they could.  
"What are you thinking about?" Han asked from beside her.  
His words started her out of her day dreams. "Xizor. Luke's wedding, everything really. I'm trying to digest everything that's happened in the past two months. It all happened so fast," she said.  
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Han said, "How many people are going to be here for Luke's wedding?"  
"More than enough. I've invited over 600 so far, and I'm sure that reporters will be there, along with people and dignitaries from many planets."  
Han stared at her. "600?! Did we have that many people at our wedding?"  
"Yes. We had close to 700 at ours. Did you know that there are already a hundred ships parked in orbit to come to this? These are people that just decided to show up, too," Leia said.  
"Whoa. I didn't know that he was so popular," Han said.  
"Who?" said a voice behind them.  
Leia turned around. She saw Luke coming out of the bushes about three meters behind them. She smiled.  
"You. Do you think that the Great Temple will be enough to hold everyone?" she asked as he came and sat down on the ground next to them.  
"I should certainly hope so. Why did I let you send out so many invitations again?" he joked.  
"Because I'm good at it. And because you had too much to do."  
"I told you that you should have made up an excuse," Han quipped.  
"I think you're right, Han," Luke said. "So what are you two doing out here?"  
"Watching the jungle," Leia said, getting to her feet. "Care to take a walk with us through such dangerous territory?"  
Luke laughed. "Sure, why not."  
They strode through the jungle, and with Han attached to her arm, Leia felt that there couldn't be a more beautiful place. The jungles could be a torturous hike, but for some reason, they seemed serene and forgiving. Birds chirped at them as they walked, and mists from a late shower dampened her skin.  
They walked through the bush, and all of a sudden Leia felt herself jerk into the air. "What. . .?" she started to say.  
She was in a net, Han beside her and Luke behind her. The thick ropes dug into her skin, and her body was cramped up beneath her. She pushed the net away from her face, and found it hard to move it as Han was pushing it beside her.  
"Uh, Luke," she said, "I think this could be very bad."  
"No, really," he said sarcastically.  
"Did you finish you new lightsaber yet?" Leia asked hopefully.  
"No. I sure wish that I did though," he said. "I put a call out to Callista. She's coming but it could take her awhile to get here."  
"Why's that?" Han grunted.  
"The Academy was just ambushed by a bunch of people. She's trying her best to help the students fight them but they seem to be losing. They're outnumbered something like three to one," he said grimly.  
"Oh, no. That must have been a purposeful distraction for something like this to happen," Leia said, still pushing at the ropes.  
"Actually, it was merely a coincidence," a voice said from behind and below them.  
Leia's blood froze in her veins. "No," she whispered, "No, no, no, no."  
"Yes, my dear," he said as he stepped into view.  
Xizor was alive. And he'd caught them in a trap.  
"Stay away from us!" she yelled.  
"Au contrere! It's the last thing I'm going to do," Xizor said, "Lower them."  
They fell to the ground, still trapped in the net. She felt Luke slow their fall a little, but they still hit hard. Leia landed sideways on Luke, and Han came crashing down next to her. Leia pushed herself up to her knees.  
"Stun her," Xizor said, "You may kill the other two."  
He's not wasting any time with this, Leia thought. "If you kill them, Xizor, I am dying along with them," she said.  
"Come on, Leia," Luke said into her ear, "Don't do this."  
"Be silent Skywalker," Xizor said.  
"No," Luke said from behind her, "You are not my master, and I am not your slave, Xizor. If your going to kill us do it quickly and get it over with."  
Han grabbed Leia's hand. He knew as well as she did that Xizor would kill them if they didn't do something fast. He knew that Luke was stalling for time. Xizor might not know though, but it was a slim chance.  
"Don't play me for a fool, Jedi. No one will get here in time to save any of you. Kill them, now."  
"NO!!!" Leia heard from behind them.  
King ran forward into the henchmen and toppled them over. He took them down with one blow each, but never stood up again. Xizor's gun fired twice and knocked King out.   
Leia was surprised that he hadn't killed him then and there. From the look on Xizor's face though, it looked like he had intended to. "Funny, Skywalker," Xizor said, "Very funny. I just didn't think that you would have been able to react as fast as you did."  
"Never underestimate an opponent," Luke said.  
"Hmph. It appears as if I have underestimated you far too often, small one," Xizor said, "That is a mistake that is about to be amended."  
Then he set the blaster back on "kill" and pointed it at Luke's head. Leia watched, horrified, as he squeezed the trigger, ever so slowly. But suddenly, he dropped the blaster and shook his hand, holding it as if it were burnt. He threw a look at Luke that would have fried lead had it been made out of lasers.  
"Didn't you mother ever tell you not to point blasters at someone?" Luke said quietly, a sharp edge in his voice.  
Luke, who was obviously fed up with blasters being pointed in his face and had no desire to be pulped again, threw Xizor against a huge Massassi tree so hard that Xizor didn't get up again.  
"Let's find a way to get out of this thing," Han said.  
But, push and pull and tug as they might, the net wouldn't budge.  
"Crap," Han said, "Green man's waking up again."  
"I told you that I didn't push him that hard," Luke said.  
"True enough." Leia agreed, "But if we don't do something soon, we're all going to get pulped by one very unhappy Faleen."  
"The gun!" Han said suddenly, "Luke, was that gun hot?"  
"Very. Why?"  
"We could use it to burn through the ropes," Han said.  
"It'll take time," Luke said.  
"It's better than nothing though. It'll hurt some, but it just might work," Leia said.   
Han reached his hand out through the net, reaching for the blaster.  
"Wait!" Luke yelled from behind Leia, "Don't touch it, you'll burn you hand off."  
"Can you lift it?" Leia asked, eyeing the blaster.  
Luke was right. Han would have seriously burned his hand if he had touched it.. The ground beneath it was scorched black, and it was a redder color than it should be.  
She could feel the heat from here.  
"I've got to be quick with this because soon, this thing is going to pop," Luke said, "Han, you and Leia hold the net up and stretch it as far as you can. Make sure that it's tight, otherwise I won't be able to get good leverage for this."  
Leia picked up the part of the net directly in front of her, holding it tight against her. She saw Han mirror her actions, and then saw the blaster rise forward.  
The blaster touched the ropes, and held there. Xizor was shaking his head groggily and getting to his knees, possibly not yet fully conscious. "Hurry, Luke!" she said, holding the ropes even tighter.  
She saw the blaster turn a brighter shade of red, and it broke through one of the ropes. "C'mon Luke," Han said, "Keep going. We need three more done before Leia can get through."  
"I'm going as fast as I can. If I go any faster, the blaster is going to blow up in your faces."  
Another rope burned through.   
Xizor saw them, and began running towards them. Leia, seeing this, concentrated on a branch that had fallen from the huge Massassi tree in which the net had been suspended from. It stirred under her control and lifted, swinging back. It snapped forward and down as Xizor ran in front of it, slashing his knee and throwing him to the ground.  
Another rope burned through.  
"Okay Luke, one or two more," Han encouraged, "Leia good job. Keep him busy while Luke is concentrating on this."  
"No problem."  
Her hold still on the branch, she swung it downward, missing Xizor by mere centimeters. He was still running at them. Leia shifted her hold, and poked backwards. The branch jabbed into Xizor's back, making him stagger.  
The next rope fell.  
"Leia!" Han said, "Go! Get out of this!"  
"Wait, let me get one more," Luke said, "She's doing good where she is."  
Leia hardly heard them, she was concentrating so hard on getting the stick to stay under her control. She chopped with the stick again, missing. Xizor's reflexes were astounding, she had to give him that. Too good, actually. He grabbed the stick and broke it over his knee. Her control snapped.  
Xizor came at them like a mad thing. He was nearly at kicking distance of her when suddenly he flew back a meter.  
The fifth rope fell. "Go, Leia!" Luke said, tossing the red hot blaster at Xizor. "I'll cover for you. Get back to the Academy and help Callista and the kids."  
Leia slipped out of the hole. She turned and ran back towards the Academy. She heard Xizor yowl in pain behind her. Luke must have pressed the blaster against him.  
She ran full speed back to the Academy. She could hear screams of pain going on behind her, and she could hear blaster fire from the Academy. She kept running. She scraped her legs on branches and stubbed her toes on rocks, but she didn't stop. She saw someone in front of her. It wasn't someone she knew from the Academy, and it didn't have a strong Force sense around it. Leia threw herself onto it's back and squeezed it's neck with her arms. It choked. Finally, it fell unconscious.  
Leia went to find Callista.  
  
***  
  
Han watched Leia run into the forest. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Xizor recoil in pain. Luke was doing a good job, as long as Han could get out of the net.  
He struggled to get through the opening. Leia had done it so easily. Han wished that it was the case for him.  
Wishful thinking, on his part.  
He finally got through. "Come on Luke. Time to go," he said.  
Han watched as Luke again took Xizor in his powerful Force-grip and hurled him back. Xizor planted his feet against the tree and saved himself from the worst of the throw. Luke climbed out of the net. He was having as much trouble as Han had.   
Han grabbed his arm and helped him out. Luke was about halfway out when Han felt a sharp pain in his back. He cried out and tumbled to the ground. He felt paralyzed, and he rolled to his side. He was right. Try as he might, he couldn't move.   
"Run, Luke," he managed to say.  
But Luke ignored him. Luke managed to get himself out of the net, and crouched next to Han. "Don't move, Han," he said.  
"Don't worry," Han said, "I can't."  
Luke looked at him worriedly and moved behind him to look at his back. "Now Callista and Leia have even more reason to hurry," he said, "What ever you do, don't move. This is going to hurt. A lot."  
Han screamed as Luke pulled something out of his back. "What the hell did you do?!" Han yelled.   
"Pulled this out."  
Luke held a vibroblade in front of his face. "It feels like you pulled my spinal cord out along with it," Han retorted.  
Xizor was coming back at them. "Watch out Luke!" Han said.  
Luke waved his fist in the air and an invisible hand smacked Xizor. The Faleen stumbled backwards but stayed on his feet. Luke stepped out in front of Han.   
Han realized right now that Luke was the only thing that was keeping him alive. He watched the battle with stunned horror as Luke and Xizor clashed.  
Xizor ran at Luke again. Luke sidestepped and kicked him hard in the side, sending him flying. Again, Xizor stood, only this time circling Luke. Xizor launched himself, and Luke crouched low and punched upward. The Faleen's umph echoed loudly in the forest. Luke shook his hand and stood up. Xizor stood up again, circling. He had a good opening, and Luke probably wasn't even aware of it. Xizor had Luke's back up against a tree. He lunged forward, and Luke's back hit the tree, stopping his dodge.  
Xizor pinned Luke up against the tree, pressing his arm to Luke's throat. Luke gasped for air, but Xizor only pressed harder.  
Han couldn't hear what Xizor was saying to Luke. Only, when Luke's knees wobbled did he release his hold. But only for a second. He spun Luke around and forced him to kneel in front of him, facing Han. With his arm around Luke's neck, and Luke still struggling to free himself, he spoke to Han.   
"Now all we need is a witness. Watch carefully Solo, as your friend slowly dies of asphyxiation. You stopped it before, but now, you can't even move. Help him if you can, Solo. But I will win. I tire of this game. Luke Skywalker, I sentence you to immediate death!"  
Han bore silent witness to the atrocity of his time.  
After those words, Xizor snapped Luke's neck.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Four  
  
Leia felt both Han's and Luke's terror at the same moment. "Callista!" she called.  
Leia ran back into the woods, not stopping to see if Callista was following her. Deeper she plunged, head on in a b-line back to where she had left. She checked the blaster in her hand. The charge was still half full.   
She saw the clearing. She saw Xizor's back, and Han laying on the ground a good two meters away from him. Leia heard him say, ". . .I sentence you to immediate death!"  
"NO!!!" she yelled.  
And then the wave hit her. It was like being touched by the Force itself, and when it passed, she stopped cold.  
Every part of Luke in her had been stripped away. A deep part of her psyche was missing. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. And it terrified her.  
She knew what had happened. Leia fell to her knees. She was too late.  
Luke had died.  
  
***  
  
Callista knew what was happening even as the wave passed her. She pushed past Leia, reaching through the Force and grasping every thread of Luke that she could.   
She saw Xizor run into the forests, but couldn't stop him. Her mind was too focused on the task at hand. She ran as fast as she could.  
She had to get there before Luke's body disappeared.   
Her old master, Djn Altis, had told her how to save a fallen Jedi from death. It was a skill she had done before, but never with this degree of urgency. And everyone she had tried to save had died anyway.  
She saw Han crawling as best as he could towards Luke's body. "Move!" she yelled. "I think I can bring him back."  
Luke's body had started to dissipate already, and haste was the key. Frantically, she Force-shoved his life force back into the empty shell of his body. She reached and collected more and more of him, pushing back every bit she could.  
Finally, when she couldn't reach any further. She stopped. Luke had solidified, and was just barely alive as far as she could tell.  
"Cilghal!" she shouted frantically into the air.  
Her shout echoed through the Force as if she were standing right next to Cilghal. She barely felt Cilghal's reply. Cilghal was coming as fast as she was able.  
That was the thing about "resurrections", as Master Altis had said. A Jedi could only be kept alive for so long without a healer to help them. She enveloped Luke in a "bubble" and in her arms, careful not to move him. It cut her soul to look at him. His head was tilted at a strange angle and his skin a morbid white.  
She heard the bushes rustle behind her. Leia came out of them, followed closely by Cilghal. Leia ran to Han, and both collapsed in a tangle of tears.  
"What can I do?" Cilghal asked.  
"Reach through the Force. You have to repair the broken bones in his neck, otherwise all of my efforts will be for nothing. And I have no intention of losing him this time."  
Callista watched as Cilghal shut her eyes and concentrated deeply in the Force. She felt the Force affecting Luke, and still she held him. Luke's color was beginning to return some. Callista felt a rush of hope in her.   
"It's done," Cilghal reported from beside her, "just don't move him. I've summoned Streen and he's coming with a doctor and stretcher. They should be here in a few moments."  
"Good. Thank you, Cilghal. I just hope that we can keep him alive long enough. This is going to be hard for everyone. I guess well have to reschedule the wedding. Don't let this out to anyone," Callista said, trying to stop tears from flowing down her face.  
It seemed forever until Streen arrived.  
Streen cursed. "Get over here!" he called to the medical aide who was looking at Han's back with a frown.  
The doctor that Streen had brought fixed Luke with a battle respirator and questioned Cilghal about what had happened.  
Callista walked shakily over to Leia and Han. Leia's tears still stained her face. Han was laying on his side beside her, eyes blank with shock. "It's all right," she said to Leia, taking her in her arms, "He's going to be okay. The medics are here. Cilghal helped me bring him back. I wouldn't have let him die, Leia, I wouldn't have."  
"See to Han," Leia said.  
"You're a wreck, Leia. Don't try to be strong, it doesn't help. Believe me, it doesn't. Let it out. I know it hurts, but it will fade soon. Very soon."  
She felt Leia swallow. "Han's back. . .it needs care. I'll help you later. I've got to see Luke first."  
"Fine, I'll look at Han."  
Callista walked behind Han and kneeled behind him. His back was blood-soaked and had a nasty puncture wound that was still bleeding a lot. She saw a vibroblade on the ground behind him, and it was covered in blood up to the hilt. "How bad does this hurt?" she asked Han, touching the skin around the wound.  
She heard him gasp. "A lot," he said, "This hurts a lot. Luke pulled it out of my back. Is he going to be okay?"  
"Yeah, he should be. I just hope I did it right."  
"Do what?" Han asked quietly.  
"A technique that my old master showed me. It's to save a fallen Jedi from death even when he or she might already be dead," Callista said. "I've got to get you back to the Temple. Can you travel?"  
"Not easily. It'll take me a long time to get back there."  
She sighed. "I'll run back and get a stretcher to put you on," she said, "What about King? He bound to get up anytime soon?"  
The man was laying in the grass, obviously stunned. "Probably pretty soon. Luke's saved a lot of people today. Leia, King, me. Probably some of the students too." Han said, trying to push himself up onto his elbow.  
"Oh, no. Don't you move, Han Solo. I'll be back in a minute."  
She trudged off into the forest. As she neared the Temple, Callista saw that most of the men (and women and aliens) that had been attacking the Academy had either been stunned, knocked unconscious, or surrendered.  
Callista ran into the Temple Med-room and grabbed a antigrav stretcher. She ran back out to where Han was. Part of her longed to stay and fight along side the students, but her priorities lay elsewhere at the moment.   
A medic had helped Han a little by the time she saw him again. "Having fun?" she asked, setting the stretcher down and sitting on the grass.  
"Tons," Han said weakly. "Go to Leia. She needs you right now. King woke up while you were gone. He bolted into the woods. My best guess is that he's looking for Xizor. We've got to find Xizor before this happens again."  
"I know. We've got to help you and Luke first though."  
Callista walked over to Leia. This was going to be a very long day, the way it was running so far. "How's he doing?" she said to Leia, who was sitting next to Luke.  
Leia jumped a little when Callista spoke to her. "Um, not dead. That's something," she said, "You've got to teach the students how to do that. To be able to save someone like that, it must give you a feeling of great importance."  
"No, not really," Callista said, "This is the first time that it's worked when I've done it. It doesn't work all the time. Especially when that person's time is come."  
"I suppose that you're right. Thank you," she said softly, "Thank you for bringing him back."  
Callista smiled ironically. "Hey, I wasn't about to let my fiancé die on me."  
Even Leia smiled at that.  
"He'll be okay, Leia. It'll take some time though. I hate to have to reschedule the wedding with this many people coming though. Can you help me?" Callista asked.  
Leia nodded. "I can't tell them about this though. The entire galaxy will know as soon as word leaves. That's how fast news travels about Luke. Your wedding is going to be broadcast live all over the galaxy you know."  
Callista felt her heart skip a beat. "No, I wasn't aware."  
"Well, now you know. They'll just be watching, so don't worry," Leia said.  
Callista felt a twinge in her. It was some part of the Force that connected her and Luke together. "He's coming to, Leia," she said, "He probably won't be able to talk though, he'll be pretty weak."  
Luke's eyes opened a slit. Callista smiled and brushed his hair out of his face. "Welcome back, Luke," she said softly.  
The medic came over. "Don't let him talk any longer than you think he should take. I'll take the respirator off now that he is awake," he said.  
His bluish skin shimmered as he moved. He packed the respirator back up and moved back over to Han.  
Callista didn't even notice. She felt Leia's joy coming through the Force, and she could barely contain her own excitement. "I'll go tell Han, Callista. He'll want to know," Leia said. "I'll be right back."  
Callista thanked her as she moved away. "You should have called me, Luke. You should have told me that you were in trouble," she scolded gently. "One call about the net isn't enough. I didn't know that Xizor was there. If I had, I would have been here in a flash. From now on, Luke Skywalker, you'd better tell me when things get to be more than you can handle alone."  
He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him before he could. "No. Don't speak now. Wait until you're strong enough. Don't move your head either," she said, and then added, "Don't even look like you're going to argue with me."  
He smiled weakly. She bent over and kissed him.  
  
***  
  
King ran through the forest, branches slapping his face. He chased the figure somewhere in front of him, but it was hard to tell where Xizor had gone. But King had his advantage. Though Xizor's green skin blended in very well with the surrounding plants, his long robes were colorful and hindered movement.  
King altered his course a little. He saw branches moving up ahead of him and heard the pounding of feet. He ran harder, but his breath burned in his lungs and he was still not completely reoriented from being stunned.  
He grabbed a stick that was fairly straight as he passed it. There was a clearing up ahead, and he wanted to have yet another advantage.  
He barged into the clearing, and seeing Xizor up ahead, threw the stick, hard and straight at Xizor's back. It hit Xizor in the spine, but the man didn't stagger. Instead, he stood stock still. . .  
And exploded.  
King covered his face with his arms as the flare rose in front of him. Tiny pieces of shrapnel showered over him, stinging his skin and leaving burns. He looked up, trying not to gag on the smell of sulfur permeating the air. "Xizor" was now scrap heap.  
Metal scrap.  
"Great," King muttered aloud, "Just great."  
He walked over and bent down by the still smoldering debris. Some pieces had stopped flaming and were hot but able to be picked up. He picked up four pieces, stomped on the flames and turned back to find where he had found Leia, Luke, and Han in a net, threatened by a metal man that was now nothing but carbon scored metal in the forest.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
Han awoke hours later inside the medical suite in the Great Temple. The last thing he remembered before the medic knocked him out was King, just coming back into the clearing. He had been carrying chunks of metal, but Han had never found out what they were.  
Han was laying on a bed in the "stable" area. His back hurt, but not nearly as much as it had before. It probably hurt though because he was laying on it. A small smile formed on his face, and he sat up. His smile was replaced by a small grimace of soreness, but was soon gone. His clothes were laying on the end of his bed, and he got up and put them on.   
"You shouldn't be up yet, handsome," he heard from behind him.  
"Don't I know it," he countered back at her.  
He turned to face Leia, who was standing behind him in the doorway. "You should," she threw back. "Seriously, Han. You shouldn't be up yet. Your back hasn't had time to heal, and you just woke up."  
"Hey," he said, walking over to her, "It's me. Besides, I can't stand laying down anyway. I've got to be up sooner or later."  
"It should be later," Leia said, her eyes flashing, "But I guess you're right. It is you, after all, and you have to be as stubborn as you can possibly be."  
Han put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "It wouldn't be me if I wasn't, and you know it Your Highness," he said mockingly.  
She smiled and put her arms around his neck, careful to avoid his back. "Fine with me," she said. "You up to helping with decorations yet?"  
"I thought that they were rescheduling the wedding."  
"I told Callista that they should, but she's been talking with Luke, and both seem to think that everything will be okay by the time the wedding comes around."  
"She's been talking with him?" Han asked, surprised, "I thought that he was to weak to talk with her."  
Leia sighed, just barely. "It's their link. It doesn't take much for them to have full fledged conversations. But it wore Luke out. He's in the tank now, so he'll be out in a while."  
"Oh, I see," Han said. "But, yeah. I'm up to helping. Just give me half an hour first. I've got to talk with someone."  
"Who?" she asked.  
"Just some friends of mine. It's not really that important though, if you really need me down there. . ." he said.  
She shoved him away playfully. "Go call. I won't ask what it's about though."  
He heard the question in her voice. He decided to ignore it. "Good. It's a surprise though," he said. "Hey, don't worry. I'm still doing something legal."  
"You'd better be."  
He hugged her and walked out into the hall. The comm room was down the hall and to his right. He passed several students on the way and many said "Hi, are you feeling better? I heard about what happened to you out in the forest." He held back his suspicions and answered politely, saying that, yes he felt better but he had an important call to make.   
When he got to the comm room, it took him a moment to remember the numbers he meant to call. He punched in the codes and a face appeared. "Why, if it isn't Han Solo!" the person said. "Why'd you call?"  
"I need a favor," Han said, "Nothing hard to come by, and I'll pay in full. I know how much these cost, so don't try to cheat me out."  
"Surely. What can I do for you?"  
Han explained his arrangement. "Well," the man said, "It's sounds straight to me. But why there? Why on Yavin 4?"  
"It's for a very good friend of mine."  
"Skywalker?"  
Han smiled. "Always knew that you were sharp. Yeah, it's for Luke."  
"Han, you got your self a deal. I'll get my people to work on it. We're going to need time to set it up though. We'll need a way in without anyone knowing."  
"Leave that to me. I'll find a way, it's something I've always been good at," Han said. "Now hurry up and get started. It needs to be here. That's my gift."  
"Don't worry. It'll be there. Trust me."  
Han snorted. "I've heard that before."  
"Right. See you then."  
Han nodded and signed off. "That went well," he said, standing up.  
He walked back out into the hall. He stopped by the med-lab on the way. He watched Luke's body float in the bacta. He had a thin brace that fit around his neck, allowing some movement. The thin straps holding the brace wrapped around Luke's throat, giving Han the impression of delicate fingers.  
He shook his head and went to help Leia.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Six  
  
Five days after the attack, Jacen was sitting outside of the Great Temple, watching with some fascination as workers moved in temporary seating and decorations. His back was against the cool stones of the temple, his legs stretched out in front of him.  
There were dozens of people working here. Jacen had never seen so many people at the temple, even after it had been bombed last year. It would be nice to see what they had to say. . .  
"Watch out!" someone yelled, interrupting him out of his daydream.  
He looked around to see what had happened, and then got a tingle of danger. He pushed off the wall, but didn't move fast enough. Someone landed on his back, knocking him to the ground.   
He landed on his stomach, his face in the grass. Someone on top of him was groaning, but it wasn't the only sound that he heard. A rumble above him made him twist his head, and he saw piles of wood come tumbling down towards him. He pushed at the person on top of him, but whoever it was, wasn't conscious.   
Quickly he rallied all of the Force around him and tried to stop the wood.   
It wasn't enough.   
It kept falling and at the last possible second, when he could almost reach out and touch it, it stopped. He heaved a sigh of relief.   
The wood reformed itself into a pile and set down on the ground next to him. "You really should be more careful, Jacen," he heard from beside him.  
He looked up to see Callista sitting next to him. "Don't I know it," he said, flashing a cocked smile at her.  
"You act so much like Han it's scary sometimes," Jacen heard.   
Luke was walking toward them. He stopped a moment to tell someone something, and then continued. "You're lucky I was standing over there."  
"Yeah, I kinda figured that. Could you, uh, help me with, um. . ," Jacen said, pointing over his shoulder to the unconscious man still pinning him to the ground.  
He saw both Luke and Callista smile. "Yeah, sure. On three?" Callista said.  
"Three," Luke said, pulling the man off of Jacen.  
Jacen felt a weight come off his back. He sighed and stood up, rubbing the small of his back. Two men and an alien came and took the unconscious man from Callista and Luke's shoulders. Jacen watched as they took the man inside.  
"Thanks, Callista, Uncle Luke," he said.  
"It always seems as if there's an accident waiting to happen around here," Luke commented, grabbing Jacen around the shoulders. "Come on. Go inside and get cleaned up. You're a mess."  
Jacen looked down at his jumpsuit. It was grass covered and muddied. "Joy," he mumbled, brushing at the grass.   
He heard Luke and Callista's laughter. It was clean and soft, but it had a quality that he had only heard a few times before when his uncle had laughed. It was pure, and made anyone else laugh along with it. He started giggling.  
"Now what kind of a man giggles?" Jacen heard.  
He turned to see Han coming out of the Great Temple, with Leia at his side. "Funny, Dad," Jacen said, "Very funny."  
"Go in. Hey, you two, how's the planning going?" Han said.  
Jacen grimaced. It was always him who got left out of these conversations. He started inside, muttering all the way.   
  
***  
  
Night had fallen. The peaceful sounds of night drifted up to Luke as he stood on the balcony of his chambers. The air cooled his skin, and the breeze played with his hair. Callista had went to bed hours ago, like he should have. But for some reason, something compelled him to be awake.  
He felt Callista's presence before she laid her hands on his bare shoulders. "Come to bed, Luke. It's almost four. You need your rest," she said softly.  
"I know," Luke pointed.   
"Luke Skywalker, you have got to be the most stubborn man I know. Will you ever learn? Look at me," she said.  
He did. Although her hair was slightly mussed, she was still the most beautiful woman he had seen. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll come in in a minute. I've got to check on something first."  
A slight frown creased Callista's forehead. "All right. Promise?"  
Luke smiled. "Promise."  
Callista turned and Luke followed her in. He grabbed his robe as he passed it, and put it on. He stepped into the turbolift and let it carry him down. He stepped out, and went down the hall to Tenel Ka's room. Quickly scanning, he confirmed what he had suspected. Silently, he opened the door just a crack.   
Jacen and Tenel Ka sat at the end of he bed, both sound asleep, heads pillowed on each others shoulders. Luke opened the door all the way and stood inside the room. He smiled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed lightly over his chest.  
He watched them for a few more minutes, and then left. Callista was asleep by the time he got back up, and so he quietly slipped into bed. Soon, he was sound asleep. Then the dreams started.  
  
He was on an open plain. It was night, and wind howled, throwing sand into his face. It was like Tatooine during a windstorm, except for the fact that it was hot. Night-time on Tatooine would have been cold.  
He turned away from the wind. As Luke moved, he caught sight of several shaded people behind him. He turned to face them.  
He couldn't see their faces. They were silhouetted against stars and nebulas, all glowing with a light of their own. The figures, however, seemed to absorb all light that hit them, so they were as black as space itself.  
Luke held his ground, and did not approach them. Something told him that it was not something he wanted to do.  
He felt more than saw the figures moving towards him. Quickly, he looked around and assessed what he could use to defend himself if it should come to that. There was nothing in sight for him to use.  
The figures moved steadily at him. "Who are you?" he called.  
The words echoed strangely, sending a chill up his spine. He looked over his shoulder, and saw that there were now the same type of figures behind him, at the same distance as the ones in front of him. "Who are you?" he said again.  
No one answered.  
They had formed a circle around him, close enough to each other to where if they stretched out their arms, they would need about a meter to touch another's hand.   
About a meter. . . His thoughts stopped there. What if. . .?  
To his dismay, each pulled out a glittering scarlet lightsaber. And advanced.  
He turned again in a circle, scanning for any opening in a ready pose. The circle was rapidly closing in on him. He felt a sting on his back, and found that they were already next to him.   
He snapped awake. It dawned on him, that these weren't just ordinary failures. These weren't people that he knew. Someone had trained them, all in the ways of the dark side. And they were coming after him.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Seven  
  
Leia had assembled all of the Jedi trainees without Luke or Callista knowing. As they crowded around her, she could feel the anxiousness emanating from them. They wanted to know what was going on. They were restless, which Leia thought strange for a group of Jedi candidates.   
But Leia could sympathize. She was a Jedi in training too, and she got restless. So did Luke, and he was a Master. True, he had never really completed his training, but in his own way, he knew enough to control his emotions.  
Leia smiled. He's going to have a tough time controlling his emotions tomorrow, though. The big day's two days away. The day before is always the worst.  
Finally, she could sense that it was time for her to begin.   
"Ah-hem," she said, clearing her throat.  
The babble immediately died down. "Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. As you are all aware, Luke is getting married in two days," she paused as a cheer rose from the group, "and I think we should do something for him."  
She had told Han about her idea, and he had loved it. At the time, Leia had thought that it was just a good idea, but now, as she thought of it, it seemed to pair up nicely with something he was doing.  
"It's something Leia and I discussed last night," Han said, "But you would be playing a big part in it. The main part actually," he said as he smiled.  
Now Leia started speaking again. She outlined her idea, and she could see the enthusiasm on the trainees' faces.  
"So," she said as she finished, "Who wants to? Now, just know that if a lot of people want to do this and you don't, don't worry. We won't have you play any part in it."  
A few eager hands shot into the air, and slowly with rising speed, the rest of the hands joined in. Leia's grin turned into a huge smile.  
  
***  
  
The next day was just inside a barely controlled chaos. People and aliens scurried around the Great Temple, making sure that everything was ready for tomorrow.  
Luke was inside his room when he heard a knock on his door. "Come on in," he called, putting down the data pad he had been working with.  
Leia pushed her way into his room. "Hey," she said, "How are you doing? Nervous? Anxious?"  
Luke grinned. "Both. I have one question for you though. How, in all the worlds, am I going to be able to pay for this?"  
She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. "Don't worry about it. I've got it covered. A lot of the companies donated the stuff that's out there. Publicity, you know, is everything. They get a good word if their logo is seen at Luke Skywalker's wedding."  
Luke looked at her in surprise. "I can't let you pay for everything, Leia. It's going to cost you way too much," he said. "So, what are you doing?"  
"Escaping," she said tiredly. "There's so much going on out there I feel like I'm going to get run over every two seconds. People have been asking me questions, asking for statements, autographs, etcetera. It's enough to drive me insane."  
Luke saw his chance. "Really?" he said casually, "I had thought your doctors had already diagnosed you insane."  
"I don't kno-. . .Hey!" Leia said, straightening. "I am not!"  
"Whatever you say, Leia," Luke said, deadpan.  
Then he ducked as he felt her grab a pillow and swing it at his head. Then he wound up with a pillow in his face as she swung it back at him.  
  
***  
  
Leia grunted as she blocked at hit from Luke. He was definitely stronger, and his speed was back and just as good, if not better.  
She hated to admit it, but she loved sparring with her lightsaber. Only this spar had a double purpose: one, to hone her reflexes, and two, to test their newly constructed lightsabers.  
Leia stepped forward and struck at Luke again, making him back up a step. Then she parried twice, and slashed at him three times. She could hardly see her azure blade, she was so intent on the duel.  
She watched Luke and his blade. His new lightsaber was green, much like his old one, but more vibrant. It's color was more pure and relaxing than the other. But it was built just as well. Better actually, Leia thought. Luke's new lightsaber was adjustable, with three crystals.  
With a sudden lunge, Luke moved forward, and changed his angle at the last second. Leia parried, but at a strange angle, and the blade was knocked from her hand.  
"Check," Luke announced, signifying the end of the duel.  
"Check," she repeated.  
Luke closed down his lightsaber. "Good job, Leia," he said, "Your lightsaber works great."  
"Yeah, now if I could just learn how to spar better. . ."  
He called her lightsaber to his hand as he walked over to her. "It's no big deal," he said, handing her the inactive lightsaber, "I've just been at it longer than you have. And you did beat me that first time."  
She set her jaw and flashed an annoyed glare at him. "That was years ago Luke!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger in his face.  
That kept him silent, but he was still smiling. "Seriously, Luke," Leia fumed, "I should be better than this. I've been practicing."  
"Not like I have. You are forced to use remotes. I get to spar with my trainees and Streen and Tionne. It's more of a challenge than remotes."  
"True," Leia agreed.  
"Are you ready to stop, now?" Luke asked.  
It was a legitimate question. They had been sparring for the last two hours. On Leia's request. "Yeah, I guess so," she said. "Maybe we can come back to it later."  
"Maybe. You might want to spar with Callista for awhile though, just to get a difference in styles," Luke pointed out.  
Leia smiled. "I'll just do that, then."  
"Good. Go get cleaned up. I've got stuff to do, now," Luke said as he walked toward the door.  
Leia watched him go. Then abruptly she called, "Hey, Luke," she paused as he turned, "Thanks."  
"No problem."  
The size of her smile outmatched his. For awhile, she just stood there, looking alternately at the door he had left through and the pommel of her lightsaber. For some strange reason, she felt very happy right now. Then she shrugged and walked out of the room, attaching the lightsaber to her belt.  
She heard someone call her name. Leia turned, and waited. "Hi, Mara," Leia said, looking at the woman's red hair.  
Mara Jade was stunning. The woman hated to admit it, but she was. Her hair was the color of an exotic spice, and her green eyes were startlingly bright. She had a figure anyone would die for, and she was an expert with a blaster.  
"How are you, Leia?" Mara asked, coming up next to her, "I haven't seen you for awhile. How's the kids?"  
"I'm fine," Leia answered, "As is the rest of my family. When did you get here?"  
"About a half an hour ago. Karrde wanted to be here, but he'll be coming tomorrow. You know," she continued, "He's really got a soft spot for Luke."  
"Really?" Leia asked. "But I'm surprised you're here. I figured you'd be the last one who'd come to Luke's wedding."  
"Yeah, Luke's wedding," she said, distantly, "Well, he does," Mara said, ignoring Leia's unspoken question.  
"Would you like to be a bride's maid?" Leia asked suddenly, "We do need one or two more. And Callista was planning on asking you."  
Mara looked shocked. "I. . .I'd be honored," she stammered.  
"Good," Leia said. "For all you've done for them, Luke in particular, I'm sorry you couldn't be maid of honor. Callista had me filled in there for almost a month now."  
Mara smiled slightly. "So," she asked changing the topic, "How's being President feel again?"  
Leia sighed. "Far too much work for me. I hardly get a chance to see anyone. This is my first chance to actually relax for the past couple of days."  
"Hmm. I heard about that attack a few days ago. Did Luke get hurt?"  
Not Han. Not Callista. Not me, Leia thought, Just Luke.  
"I can't tell you here. Would you like to come up with me? Then I can explain everything that's happened in the past few months. It's been kind of confusing," Leia said.  
Mara nodded and followed Leia into the turbolift.  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Eight  
  
"Stand still, Han, or I won't be able to get this fastened."  
Han growled irritably, and said, "I just don't want to be late, Leia. It's Luke's big day, and the dang thing starts in an hour."  
"I know," Leia said from behind him. "Where did you pick this suit up from anyway? It looks like something only models would wear. It doesn't quite fit around you right."  
Han rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault! Chewie sent it to me from Kashyyyk. It's one of my old suits, and it fits just fine. Go ask Chewie, he's probably downstairs already, like we should be."  
Leia turned him around and looked at him. "Well, unlike us, Chewie doesn't have to worry about getting dressed. Now stop whining. You're finished."  
Han turned and looked one more time into the mirror. Finally satisfied. "Right. I'll see you in about an hour. May I walk you to Callista's room?" he said, offering his arm to Leia.  
"Surely, kind sir," she said, matching his singsong tone and taking his arm.  
He led her down the hall to the Grand Audience chamber. Ushers already were leading people down the promenade to their seats. Han glanced at the people as he walked by them. Many of them he recognized, some he didn't know at all. Across the room, and down a hall is where he led Leia. Though the true purpose of these rooms had never been clear, they now served as dressing rooms and conference rooms at the Great Temple.   
Han opened the door to one of the rooms, and gave Leia a quick kiss. "Good luck, Leia," he said.  
"Yeah, you too," she said.  
Then she went into the room and the door closed, leaving Han in the passageway. He strolled down until he reached the door at the far end. He knocked softly on it, and then went in. The room was pretty much bare, except for some chairs and a mirror.   
"Hey, Luke, where are you?" Han called.  
"Here."  
Han looked to his right. There was a chair, but no Luke. Han looked up, and there Luke was, just sort of floating, cross-legged.  
Han walked over and looked up. "What are you doing?"  
"Trying to relax," Luke murmured.  
Han smiled. "Well, you must be doing a pretty good job of it considering that you're floating in mid-air."  
Luke's eyes flew open. And then he fell.  
The chair bobbed as it caught him. "I was floating?" Luke asked.  
Han frowned. "Yeah. Didn't you know? I just kind of figured that you were doing that on purpose."  
Luke looked a little confused. "I had no idea," he said.  
"Now that's just strange," Han said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Luke. "How're you doing?"  
Luke icy blue eyes looked into his. "Truthfully," he said, "I don't know."  
"Don't worry. That's how I felt before my wedding. Everything's just about set. We may even get started early at the rate that this is going," Han said.  
Han could see Luke's eyes unfocused for a moment. Then they snapped into focus. "Those ushers are doing a good job. Just about everyone inside the Temple is seated already," Luke said, "and we have what? Half an hour?"  
Han checked his chronometer. "More like forty-five minutes. What a time to wait for. I hate waiting."  
Now it was Luke's turn to smile. "Yeah, I'd noticed."  
Han threw a look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing."  
"Mara's here," Han said.  
"Mara?" Luke asked, surprised.  
"Yeah. So's Karrde. But Mara's one of your bride's maids," Han said.  
"Hmm. I didn't think she would have come to this. To my knowledge, she's never really liked me or Callista all that much," Luke explained.  
A chime rang through the room. "I wonder who that could be," Han said, moving towards the door.   
Mara barged in before he could get there. "I need to talk to you, Han."  
"Me? What about?"  
"Alone."  
Han heard the accent on "alone". "Uh, sure. I'll be right back, Luke."  
Luke nodded, and Han could feel the tension emanation from Mara ease somewhat as she dragged him into a different room down the hall.  
"I can't do this," she said.  
"Huh? What do you mean?" Han asked, puzzled.  
"I can't be at this wedding."  
"Why? Lando's here, and he'll be walking you down the promenade. If it's about Lando, I can change that."  
"No!" Mara exclaimed, "It's not about Lando. It's about Luke."  
Han's confusion deepened. "I know you don't like Luke very much, but it's only a few hours. . ." Han started.  
"No, it's not that," Mara said. "Luke doesn't even bug me anymore. In fact. . .  
". . .Han, I love him."  
Han's mouth hung open. Mara stepped over and put her hand under his jaw, shoving it back up. "But so much as if a suspicion of this gets out," she continued, "I don't know what I'd do. Not even Karrde knows about this."  
"So. . .why are you telling me?" Han finally managed to say.  
"Because, you're a lot like me. We each have shady backgrounds. We've both done things we're not too proud of. We each have had our good days. We were both smugglers. It just happens that I still am," she said, "And you know Luke well enough to know if this is something he should know about or not."  
"I suppose. When did you figure this out?"  
"I don't know," Mara said, sitting down on a chair.  
"Do you know what changed your mind about him?"  
She shook her head. "I just realized a couple of months ago how much I enjoyed working with him. Then I realized that it wasn't just that. I enjoyed his company, I liked the way he did things. On the last mission he took, I was assigned to go along with him. He got in trouble, and I found myself thinking, 'If I lose him, I'll kill myself,'."  
"I didn't hear very much about this mission," Han said, a little miffed.  
"It was a group of smugglers that were apparently getting ready for some big takeover. Admiral Drayson called us. We went," Mara said, "They found out who we were. Apparently, Luke was a key element in their plans for eventual takeover. They all ganged up on him, blasters, metal bars, pieces of machinery, and so forth. I tried to get their attention, but they were all too focused on Luke. He had gotten hit pretty hard with something on his head, and he went down. With Luke down, some of them turned their attention to me," she went on.  
"I saw them take Luke out of the room, but I didn't know where they were taking him. I lost my concentration, and they took me down. Some of them were getting a little too friendly with me. But I couldn't stop them. I didn't know it, but Luke somehow got loose from them and managed to stop them. Then he pulled the men off of me. But the damage was already done. He just knelt down and held me. He didn't say anything, just knelt there and took the fact that I couldn't stop crying. That's probably when I realized that I loved him."  
For a minute, Han just sat there. "What did they do to you?"  
"What Xizor did to Leia. And I couldn't stop it."  
Han swelled with anger. Here was another of the galaxy's strongest women, taken down by a bunch of men that didn't understand the word "no". He forced the anger down, and asked, "Are you okay now, though?"  
"Almost. Thanks to Luke."  
"Are you sure that you love him?"  
"That's like saying how do you know that you love Leia?"  
Han sunk down into a chair across from her. "That's love all right. But still, why did you have to tell me?"  
"Because, I needed to tell someone I thought that I could trust. And I trust you about as much as anyone except for Luke," Mara explained.  
"So, now do you think you can go through with this wedding?"  
"Yeah. I just needed to get that off my shoulders."  
"Anytime, Mara, anytime."  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Nine  
  
Luke stood at the front of the promenade. He had never, in all his life, seen the Grand Audience chamber so crowded. He saw many people that he knew.  
Han stood next to him. "It's time, kid," Han whispered.  
"Are you sure?" Luke whispered back.  
"Yep. Any minute now, those cameras over there will light up. Then you'll hear the distant horns and they'll get closer."  
Sure enough, as Luke looked up, the cameras light's came on. A minute later, Luke did hear horns as they sounded outside of the Great Temple. "See," Han whispered. "It's time."  
There was a ripple of excitement that passed through the chamber. Luke could feel it through the Force as well as hear it and see it. Personally, he couldn't see why they'd be so excited. When he was younger, he had been to many weddings. He had always thought that they were boring. Even Leia's wedding bored him, but not nearly as much, probably because he knew Han and Leia.   
But weddings were still boring to him.  
Although, this was a different story altogether. This was his wedding. It was the only one he ever planned to have.   
Now a music started playing. Not quite traditional wedding music, but it was beautiful. He looked at Tionne, who was playing and also directing the music. He flashed a thankful smile at her. She smiled back, because she loved what she was doing.  
Luke looked down the promenade. He saw Leia walking down, and the rest of Callista's bride's maids following. Two behind Leia he saw Mara, and their eyes locked for a second. Luke felt something from her, but could make out exactly what it was.   
She looked away, and Luke tried to figure out exactly what that was. Desire? Sorrow? Longing? he thought, Or was it all three? And what did it mean?  
Leia came up the steps and stood one below the raised stage. The rest of the bride's maids came up behind her.  
Then the music changed.  
Luke looked down to the far end of the promenade. There stood Callista, in her wedding dress. Luke stood dumbstruck for a moment. As Callista walked down the isle, Luke heard little gasps of awe. A murmur passed through everyone. Han leaned closer to Luke. "Now that woman is definitely put together right," Han said.  
"Yeah, I'd noticed," Luke said breathlessly.  
The gown Callista wore was a royal blue, matching Luke's robe. Luke held back a grimace. The robe had had to be fitted, and it took almost a day to do so. Supposedly, it was the best material, because it was made out of some sort of exotic silk. Luke really didn't care what he wore, but Leia had insisted on the best.  
Callista moved up the stairs and came up beside him. He offered his arm and she took it. The priest stood over the altar in his green robes, and nodded at them as they knelt across the altar.  
Then, suddenly, he started. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today. . ."  
  
***  
  
Mara tried not to grimace. Every once and awhile, Han would turn his head and look at her, and she would nod back in assurance. This wedding was definitely taking it's toll on her.  
All through the wedding, she held her tongue. She kept thinking back to when she had walked down that isle behind Winter and Leia. Kept thinking back to the way her eyes had locked with Luke's.  
Now, as she watched, all of her emotions seemed to double.  
The priest was leading them in their vows, and it amazed her at how Luke's voice carried. Though he was soft spoken, everyone could hear him. It was as though he was standing right next to her.  
Now Callista's voice carried back to her.  
Maybe it was just the acoustics of the room, or something that they knew how to do with the Force. Or maybe it was both. But she heard them both perfectly clear.  
She pressed down her mounting anguish and waited.  
  
***  
  
Leia could feel the anguish in Mara. Through the Force she called to her, Calm down, Mara. What is it?  
Softly she heard a reply. Sorry, this is just getting on my nerves. I can't tell you why. Where's Karrde?  
I'm not sure, but he's probably in the balcony somewhere. Why?  
Just wanted to know.  
Leia thought about that. Why, in all the worlds, would Mara want to know that now? Was it something Han had planned? Or just curiosity?  
Leia didn't know. Mentally shrugging it off, she turned her attention once again to Luke and Callista.  
And finally it was time. "Do you, Luke Skywalker, take this woman as your wife, forever and ever until death do you part?" the priest asked.  
Luke smiled. "Very much so."  
"And do you, Callista from Chad, take this man to be your husband until death do you part?"  
"Yes, I do."  
"If there are any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace."  
Leia saw Han stiffen just noticeably, as if waiting for someone to object. But none came.  
After a minute the priest said, "Then you may kiss your bride."  
A cheer unmatched by anything Leia had ever heard roared up from the crowd. Fireworks blossomed over them, and as they kissed, and Leia could sense Luke's joy, like nothing she had ever felt before.  
  
  
Chapter Thirty  
  
Han stood there, and watched as they kissed, the roar of the crowd nearly deafening him. He could barely hear the music that Tionne was making, and she was playing as loud as her instrument would allow her.  
Suddenly, the joyful cheer was replaced by screams of terror. Han automatically reached for the blaster her was not wearing, turning and screening the crowd for what was happening. Luke and Callista had both looked up in surprise, and Han could see that they were just as startled as nearly everyone else.   
They needn't have looked very far.   
Flames erupted in the middle of the audience, and Han could feel the heat from where he stood. Then he nearly fell over as the blast reached him. It was very much like flicking your finger through the flame of a candle, but it left his body tingling, unharmed. All through the Great Hall there was a high pitched noise, quickly scaling up to where it went beyond Han's hearing range. It made his ears ring, and he heard the sound in his head, or at least it's vibrations. He covered his ears, for somewhere he had read that extremely high pitched sounds could effect your brain waves. But nonetheless, he staggered under the assault. It made him dizzy, and the rest of the room spun with him. Sonic pulse, he thought.  
On the platform behind him, he could see Luke and Callista staggering. He saw Leia and Mara stagger under a deluge of their own, and he made his way over to them. "Get down!!" he yelled, as he moved people out of his way.   
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flare of several lightsabers as they blazed into existance. Not Luke's, not Callista's though. The trainees'. Han had almost forgotten that they were present. They wouldn't be able to do anything against the sonic pulse, but it was possible that they were uneffected. Sonic pulses were directional weapons, much like blasters. They only effected whoever they were pointed at.  
Quickly, Han recalled all he knew about sonic pulses. They effected the brain, directional but not precise. . .  
Sharply, he looked up at Luke and Callista. To test his theory, he began to move towards them. As he progressed, the noise got steadily louder and more annoying. His head hurt so badly by the time he neared them, he thought that he would pass out, right there. He grabbed Callista around the waist, and started to move her. She was heavy against him, her mind was probably so numb that she could no longer think. Luke followed, helping Han when he staggered.  
Finally, they cleared the path enough so that Han could think again. While many of the groom's men and bride's maids helped the guests out of the way, Han saw Luke close his eyes, and extend his hand in the general direction in which the sonic pulse was originating. Almost five seconds later, there was a screech of electronics and the noise stopped, leaving everyone breathless. He was about to turn to Luke and thank him, when he suddenly found a blaster in his face.  
The man holding the blaster made a small gesture, ordering him to move to the side and away. Slowly, Han raised his hands and backed in the direction that the man had pointed. "Luke!" Han yelled as he saw someone coming up behind his friend, "Watch it!"  
Then man with the blaster that had moved Han away moved his finger just slightly, and Han saw flashing blue arcs come his direction. It was the last thing he recalled.  
  
Luke heard Han's warning, and he spun around, realizing that he wasn't wearing his lightsaber. He saw the alien running up fast behind him, and recognition dawned on him. It was the same alien that he had tangled with in Leia's home on Coruscant, the same one that had nearly crushed him there.  
The alien threw itself at Luke, and Luke sidestepped out of the way, landing a solid kick in the thing's side. It fell to the ground and rolled upright again, facing Luke. Luke risked a quick glance at Callista who was busy helping to get people out of the Great Temple. Cilghal was running from person to injured person that had been caught in the blast of the bomb. Most were unhurt, but there were a few that were badly burned.  
He watched the alien carefully, as well as through the Force. It's mind was totally focused on taking Luke, one way or the other. Luke held back a grimace. No mind tricks would work now, so Luke was forced to fight. The alien launched itself again, but changed it's position at the last second.   
Unprepared for the new direction, it rammed full force into Luke, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him. It caught Luke's wrists in it's huge hands and, as Luke saw, making Luke's hands fairly useless.  
Luke got his feet under the alien and kicked, up and back, throwing the alien over onto it's back. It was obviously a good fighter, for it hung on. It managed to land enough on it's feet and shift it's hold so that it flipped Luke over onto the floor, facedown. The throw had twisted Luke's arm, and the alien twisted it further, pinning him to the floor.  
Luke knew that the couldn't use the Force to just fling him to the side, otherwise he'd wind up taking this own arm off. So he used the Force to move something else.  
He took one of the benches from the audience and used it like a bat, attempting to nail the alien straddling his back. The alien obviously saw it coming though, and used it's free hand to smash Luke's head against the floor.  
Luke lost his concentration and bench fell, never reaching it's indended target. Vaugely, he heard something through the Force, Callista calling his name.   
"Here!!" he shouted, loud enough to be heard over the screams and hums of the trainees' lightsabers.  
He heard the pounding of feet behind him, and suddenly felt a prick of a needle on his back. There were ways of using the Force to fight off toxins, and Luke tried to prepare them, simultaneously pushing at whoever had done it. Luke heard a crack at the side of the Temple, and he could turn his head just enough to see that it was a medic that he didn't know. Somehow, Luke knew that this was whoever had stuck him.  
On his back, he felt the alien's grip loosen on his arm, just enough so that Luke could move. Ignoring the pain it caused his arm, he twisted, and wound up facing the alien. Seeing it's mistake, the creature again tightened it's grip, but the damage had already been done. Luke threw a teras kasi jab at it's throat and the thing gagged, letting go of Luke's arm. In it's moment of inattention, Luke swung his arm and hit the side of it's head as hard as he could, sending it toppling off of him and to the floor.  
He rolled to the side, getting to his feet and watching the alien. It lay groaning on the floor, and Luke moved away from it. He would not fight a felled opponent, whether it was trying to kill him or not.   
Quickly, he scanned the room for Callista. She had seen him and was running towards him as fast as her dress would allow. He started to move at her, but felt a warning from the Force. He lunged to the side and rolled, finding his way back to his knees just in time to see a pair of electric bolos fly through the air where his neck had just been. He tracked the origin of the bolo's flight, and found a person covered in full body armor, with personal shields, holding some sort of gun. Luke quickly extended his hand and closed his fist. The gun crumpled, throwing sparks and igniting a startled curse from it's operator.  
His danger sense blared a warning and Luke jumped to the side just before a flurry of laser blasts nearly fried him. The number of blasts increased, forcing him to concentrate on not being hit. He danced to the side again, throwing a quick glance at the wall behind him. Thinking furiously, he tried to find a way to get out of his predicament. And suddenly, he had it. It was risky and a long shot, something he had never done before. But it was worth a try, and much better than being fried on the spot.  
Mentally preparing himself, he crouched and flipped backward, using the Force to enhance the strength of his leap. Luke twisted in midair, finding himself looking parallel at the floor. At that moment, the sounds of blaster fire still firing uselessly where he had been, his feet hit the wall, the sheer inertia of the jump keeping him there for a fraction of a second. He pushed off the wall, sending himself flying in a totally new direction. The laser fire was now starting to track him as the gunners realized that their quarry had escaped their targeting sights.  
He landed hard on his shoulder, and could not stop in time to avoid crashing into one of the benches. For a long second, Luke lay on the floor, trying to get his breath back and somehow realizing that he could not. Get up! his mind shouted at him, Move, or they'll find you! But he could not. Only half a minute later, just as he felt people gathering around him, did he understand why. The needle, he thought, There must have been a drug in it. I stopped concentrating on the pattern.  
He tried to get up, but was shoved back down as someone or something stepped on his back. He felt another needle prick, on his neck this time, and the last thing he heard was Callista shout his name.  
  
  
Chapter Thirty-One  
  
Han woke up just in time to see a burly man go out the back of the Temple with an unconscious Callista cradled in his arms. For a long second, his groggy mind failed to regester what he was seeing. Then suddenly it became clear to him.  
He staggered to his feet, grabbing momentarily onto the end of one of the benches to regain his balance. He went to the door that he had seen the man take Callista through. Cautiously, he poked his head through the door. At the end of the clearing, barely into the rainforest, he saw the man lay Callista next to another inert figure on the back of a lifter. Though it was far away, he knew instinctively who the other figure was. "Luke. . ." he whispered. Trying not to let anyone see him, Han dashed across the clearing.   
He was almost there when he heard, "Look out! There's company coming!"   
Going far too fast to stop or dodge, the stun blast hit Han square in the chest.  
  
***  
  
Mara searched frantically for Luke, calling his name and Callista's. Though she had no real desire to find Callista, she knew that Luke would be devastated if she was missing. But if she was never found, Mara could step in. . .  
NO, she told herself. She wouldn't do that. Above all, she wanted to see Luke happy, even if it wasn't with her.   
"Luke!!" she called again to the inside of the dust filled Temple, "Callista!"  
There was no sound, except that of the wounded outside of the Temple, and the other searchers voices, calling names just as she was.  
Mara heard Leia come up behind her. "Anything?" the other woman asked, trying to find some good news.  
Sadly, Mara shook her head. "No," she said. "I can't even feel either of them. They're not here, Leia. Not anymore."  
She could feel Leia's fear beside her. Not fear for her, but for Luke. Mara knew the difference between the feelings. She was feeling them now. "Did you find Han?" Mara asked, hopeful.  
"There's still more places to check," Leia said, "Try out back with me. He might have wound up out there for who knows why."  
"I'll take that as a 'no', then," Mara whispered under her breath as she followed Leia out back into the sunshine.  
At an instant, Mara's combat trained ears picked up on a soft groaning, and the different color that wasn't supposed to be in the forest. "Look," Mara said, "Over there!"  
They rushed over, and found a just-this-side-of-unconscious Han Solo. Stun, Mara thought, knowing the effects of a stun beam all too well. She had been stunned too, and had woken up only a few minutes ago. She still felt it's disorienting effects.  
"Han," Leia said, taking her husband into her arms. "Han, wake up."  
Han stirred and after a minute, Mara thought that he wouldn't wake up, at least not yet. But then his eyes slitted open, and for a minute he seemed not to know where he was. Then recognition dawned on his face, and he sat up (with Leia and Mara's help) with a small groan.  
"Han," Leia asked, "Do you know what happened to Luke or Callista?"  
"I'm fine, thanks," Han said groggily, "Whoever they were," he said, gesturing at the inside of the Temple, "Loaded them up and took them. Left in a big hurry, too."  
Mara exchanged a worried glance with Leia. Leia had told her what had happened to Luke before, and they were both thinking the same thing. "Do you think it's Xizor?" Mara asked quietly.  
"I don't see any other possibilty," Leia said, "Xizor's the only one who been able to actually pull something like this off. He did it before, and then had someone do it for him. We've got to do something, and fast. Last time, Xizor just killed Luke, no time wasted. Now. . ." she paused as they helped Han to his feet, "I don't know. Callista's missing, too. So, I assume that Xizor isn't going to kill Luke right away, torment him a little. But that just it. Luke's been through so much in the past month or two. He's been kidnapped, beaten nearly to the point of death, dehydrated, poisoned, been in a coma, and killed. And today he got married. I don't know about you or Luke, Mara, but I'd have a hard time dealing with all of that. And with Xizor, I'll think he'll use that to his advantage."  
"I didn't know how much he'd been through," Mara said, astonished. "I didn't know the fullest extent of what had happened. But now that you've laid it out on the table for me, I agree. I wouldn't have been able to cope with that."  
Mara steadied Han against her, slinging his arm around her shoulders to help hold him upright. He was heavy, possibly not still fully conscious. Mara felt stiff and hindered in her tight fitting brides' maid dress. She was not used to working in an outfit like this. Not even when she had served as the Emperor's Hand. Her dresses had always been loose and flowing.  
With Leia's help, Mara half dragged/half carried Han out to the front of the Temple with the rest of the guests. Some lay on the ground, either stunned or injured. There were many guests with burns, most of them not life threatening, but some were, the ones that had been closest to the bomb when it had exploded. Other people were merely wandering around, usure of what to do or where to go.   
They dragged Han over into the shaded area just outside of the forest, and let him lay in the shade. He was indeed unconscious again, but he stirred when they set him down. "Let him sleep it off," Mara said to Leia, "He got hit with a pretty high stun not too long ago from the looks of it."  
"I'll second that," Leia replied.   
"Now we just have to figure out what to do about Luke."  
Leia pulled out her commlink and switched it on. "Rouges," she said into it, "This is Leia Organa Solo. Where are you?"  
Mara heard Wedge Antillies voice return. "We're up in orbit. We're not letting any ships out, Leia."  
Mara could see Leia visibly relax. "Thanks, Wedge. Keep your eyes open though. We're looking for something that's not obvious. Check even New Republic transports trying to get out," she said.  
"What is they clame to have injured on board?" Wegde asked.  
"I'll send up orders to let them through," Leia said. "You know my code, right?"  
"Like the back of my hand," Wedge said cheerfully.  
"Good. It'll be on there someplace. Watch yourselves up there."  
Then she keyed off, jamming the commlink back into her belt. "That should do it," she said to no one in particular.  
Mara looked around at the injured people. She should not be here. I should be looking for Luke, she thought. I'm a pretty good tracker, when I need to be. But it's unlikely that I'm bound to be headed off this rock anytime soon.  
She went back into the Grand Audience Chamber of the Great Temple where everything had taken place, scanning the Great Hall for anything that might help. She made her way to the front by the altar, and was dissapointed that she felt nothing. Mara sat down where Luke had stood, resting her chin on her hand. Though she couldn't find anything, she did not give up, at least not yet. But for the moment, all she could do was wait.  
  
***  
  
Wedge scanned the sky again for any signs of movement. It had been nearly an hour since Leia had called him. Almost two since Luke had disappeared.  
Wedge was very worried about his friend. He had known Luke for a long time, and this was a nightmare for Wedge. He didn't want to see anything happen to him. A blip on his screen caught Wedge's eye. "Take a good look, Rouges," he said, "We've got ourselves a transport."  
He banked, and raced straight at the new ship. Nearly fourty klicks out of firing range, he'd never get there in time if they made a run for it. "Unidentified ship, you are to stop your engines and respond on this frequency immediately. Repeat, stop your engines and respond."  
"Starfighter patrol, this is the Fisher. We have wounded on board that cannot be delayed departure."  
"I have orders from way up not to let you through until I have seen your waiver release. Until I see it, you are not going to be going anywhere," Wedge said, putting all the military in his voice that he could.  
"Here!" the transport's captian shouted at him, "Here's your stupid waver."  
As the waver appeared on Wedge's screen, the transport blasted off into space, and it was still out of Wedge's firing range. "Stop!" Wedge shouted, throwing his X-wing into full throttle once again, "If you do not stop and power down you will be put under arrest."  
Yes, they did have "orders" from "Leia". But her code wasn't on them. Whoever this was, they were making sure that they were getting away from this planet.   
Which meant that it was very possible that Luke and/or Callista were on board.  
"Rouges!" he shouted, "Lock and load, we've got us a bogey! Stop that transport, but don't destroy it, there could be hostages on board!"  
Wedge drained his shields and poured extra power into his engines. His ion beams missed the ship, skimming it's shields but not preventing it from jumping into hyperspace.  
The ship was gone.  
  
***  
  
Xizor felt the slight bump as his ship docked on Yavin 5. It was not long before he was striding down the ramp of the modified transport into the cool hangar of his new base.   
He allowed a small smile touch his face. This base was in the perfect spot. It was the next moon to Skywalker's Jedi Academy, and he could watch everyone frantically running around, trying to find him. Because it was so close, no one would think to look here. And, as his scientists told him, the moon was supposed to be devoid of all life. Anyone else would have no reason to think otherwise.  
"Commander," he called into his ship, "See that they are brought down. Follow the instructions I gave you earlier to the letter. Make sure everything is ready, and then contact me."  
The commander, a nondescript man in his late fourties with little hair, said, "Yes, sir. Where will I find you?"  
"I'll be in my office. I still have a buisness to run, you know."  
The commander nodded, and marched back into the ship. Even as Xizor walked away, he could hear the man barking orders at his crewmates. Quickly and efficiently, the men brought his captives down, and moved them into a room that Xizor had specially prepared for this.   
Xizor turned around. "Commander," he called, "On second thought, bring her to my quarters. I shall deal with her myself. Give Skywalker another dose of the dear doctor's medicine. It will keep him out until I need him."  
"What shall I do with her in there? Merely lock the door?" the commander asked.  
"No, cuff her around one of my bedpoles. Leave the key on the far side of the room," Xizor instructed. "It will tempt her."  
"Yes, sir."  
Xizor walked down a long hall into a much warmer part of the base. The door to his office opened as he neared it, and he sat down behind his desk. His computer turned on at his touch, and gave him his sales and profits. Needless to say, he did not fail to equip his base with the newest technology. After he finished checking, sending out a few letters and orders, he went into his room.   
There was the girl, Callista, handcuffed to the end of his bed. The poles ran from floor to ceiling, with holes puctured through to make them decorative. The chain between her wrist locks was through one of those holes, making it impossible to even move completely around the pole. Her back was to him, and she was kneeling, apparently having exhausted herself trying to get out. Good, he thought.  
His tread noiseless, he crept up behind her. Xizor touched her shoulder, and she fliched away from his touch. "Welcome, my dear," he said, crouching behind her. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am. . ."  
"I know who you are," she interrupted. "You're the freak that nearly killed my husband."  
". . .Xizor," he contiuned. "And I assure you, you'll find me quite pleasant once you get to know me."  
Callista looked at him angrily. "I don't want to know you. Where is he? Where's Luke? What have you done with him?"  
"He's safe," Xizor said, "For the moment. Tell me-Callista is it?-what do you see in him?"  
"Everything I don't see in you. Compassion, a desire to help others, kindness, willingness to learn. He's my idea of a real man. You, however, don't even show mercy."  
Xizor's face hardened. "No, that's not what I mean. What makes you want to be with him? What makes him want to be with you? From what I see, you're not an ugly woman. In fact, I'd like to see far more of you."  
He reached out and touched her cheek, softly, as if she would dissolve. Her face remained stony, but she did not move away. She couldn't. Xizor grasped her chin and pulled her close to his face, grabbing the back of her neck when she pulled away. He kissed her fiercely, so hard that her head bent back. He let go, sitting back on his heels, tasting her. Hmm, he thought, much like paya fruit. Interesting.  
The last thing he expected was for her to spit in his face.   
He clamered to his feet, wiping it away. "If you want my spit so much, Xizor, there it is," Callista said, with a tinge of pride in her voice.   
Disguted and angry, he kicked her hard in the stomach. She doubled over with a cry, and Xizor stalked from the room. He keyed his commlink for the commander. "Take her to the room," he said shortly.  
But not all was lost. Xizor still had his plan. He would wait, bide his time, and soon, all would fall into place.  
  
***  
  
Luke woke on the rough stone floor in a huge room. Yavin? he thought, What?  
His head ached, swimming with residual effects of whatever drug had been poured into him. He pushed himself up on his elbows, pulling his legs underneath him. He shook his head slightly to clear it.  
"Back again, eh, Skywalker?" Xizor's voice boomed through the room.  
Luke stood, careful not to make the throbbing turn to dizziness. Slowly he looked around, and saw a window up at the top of the room, far out of reach. This is definetly not Yavin, Luke thought, and then he saw Xizor. He was up in the room, and he had Callista with him.  
"What do you want now, Xizor? Let her go, she has nothing to do with this."  
Xizor sighed, just noticably. "Ah, Skywalker, Skywalker. You left before I could properly bid you farewell. Callista's here to add to my collection once I am done with you," he said, and then turned away for a moment, barking orders at some poor soul. "In a few minutes we will be ready to begin. I've been watching your friends back on Yavin, Skywalker. You should see them, running around, frantic for you and your lovely bride. It's amazing really, that they would look for you."  
"Well, unlike you, Xizor, I have people that actually care about what happens to me," Luke said coldly, "So does Callista."  
"I'm afraid, however, that they may never see you again, depending on how you preform here."  
"What do you mean?" Luke asked, looking slowly around the room.  
He could see nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that he did not see before. But he heard something. "No explination is needed, Skywalker," Xizor said as a hatch slid open to Luke's side, "This time though, please, STAY DEAD."  
Luke's attention glued to the door. The sounds were louder now, and much closer.   
Luke took an invoulentary step backwards as they came through the door.  
A pack of battle neks.  
Even one trained battle nek dog was deadly. But a pack. . .  
They ran at Luke, their fangs gleaming. He had little time to look for anything to fight with. His two second search was cut off as another door opened on his side. No, he thought. But it was true. More neks had come into the arena.   
He leaped to the side, putting all of his strength behind it. He was not fast enough. One of the nek's claws dug into his side, ripping his skin and causing a river of pain to shoot through him. Luke managed to stay on his feet, and he bolted away from them, ignoring the pain that it sent through his side.   
But the neks were far faster than he was, and one vaulted onto his back, slamming him onto the hard ground and gashing his shoulder. It was going too fast to stop though, and it bounded off of him, and Luke rolled to the side. There was no where for him to go that they wouldn't find him. He would have to fight.  
They came at him, and Luke hit one square in the throat. It fell, and he managed to elbow another before one got to his leg. Luke sprinted to the side, putting a little distance between him and the neks. Something crashed down beside him, sending a dust cloud into the air. Now not only was he outnumbered, outskilled, and unarmed, but he was unable to see. The dust cleared, but the blindness remained. It was unlike a natural dust blindness. The could sort of see, but the room spun and everything was blurred. Luke did not let it stop him though. He plunged forward, every movement ripping at his leg, side and shoulder.  
Other things crashed down around him, things that Xizor was obviously controlling. Luke could hear the pounds of things falling next to him, he could hear the neks growls, and Callista's yelling.  
Luke changed his course, and ran close to a pillar. The neks followed, a few slamming against the pillar and sliding to the floor, unmoving. That was the thing with neks: they couldn't see very well.  
But now, neither could he.  
A nek got it's teeth around Luke's ankle and pulled, sending him flailing down to the floor. They were on top of him now, tearing into him. He took care of a few, but Luke was no match for them, not without the Force to help him. Somehow, he managed to get out from under them, and get moving again.   
From behind him, he heard a monstrous roar. He turned, and was pummeled to the floor as one of the pillars collapsed. He tried to get up, but pain shot through his leg, and the neks returned.  
Suddenly though, they backed off, and Luke, bloody and no longer able to move, allowed the darkness to steal over him.  
  
  
Chapter Thirty-Two  
  
Xizor blocked out Callista's screams for Skywalker and called his medic up to the observation room. He arrived within a minute.  
"Yes, Prince Xizor, what do you wish of me?" the medic asked, his accent emphasizing the light qualities of his voice.  
"Come with me," Xizor said, "Guards, take her down to the security block. Lock her in a cell and leave her there."  
"Very well," his Commander answered.  
Xizor took the mousy little medic down to Skywalker. "Dear God!" the medic, Yanne, exclaimed. "He needs care. . ."  
"No," Xizor said. "Just answer this question for me. With the cuts and the amount of blood loss, if left unattended, will he live for?"  
For a second, the medic stared at him. Then he kneeled down and assesed the damaged that Xizor's pets had done to him. "Do you need a range, sir?"  
"Yes, that would be helpful, Yanne."  
"Well, I'd say I'd give him about and hour and a half to four hours. Why do you ask, though?" the medic said.  
"Good. Guards!" Xizor called, "Take him to my ship. Throw him in with the ysalamiri. Then prepare my ship for travel. I have much to do in the next twenty minutes."  
  
***  
  
Leia was frantic. No one had seen Luke or Callista in over four hours. There were no traces of where they had been taken. Leia was now sure that Xizor had them. Wedge had called her, and told her about the transport that had gotten through a few hours ago. That call had shaken her heart and cut through her soul like a spike of ice. If someone didn't find Luke or Callista, and fast, they probably would never find them.  
She heard Han come up behind her even before he put his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Leia," he said, "You've got to have some faith in them. Wherever Luke is, I'm sure he's giving them one hell of a time."  
"I can't, Han," she said, turning to face him. "You don't understand. I can't lose him, not again."  
"Neither can I," Han said, his face hard.  
He drew her close, and Leia laid her head against his chest. It was warm and strong, familiar and comforting.  
Mara came up and touched her shoulder. "We'll get him back, Leia," she said, "I promise, we'll get Luke back here. Let me take care of Xizor. I owe him, anyway."  
"Thanks, Mara."  
It was then that Leia heard the high pitched whirr of a droid. She moved her head, pushing away from Han. The small spherical droid hovered nearly at her head. A message droid, by the looks of it. "I have a message for Leia Organa Solo and others present," it said, it's mechanical voice making a shiver run through Leia.  
"Play it," she said.  
She was among her closest friends here. She had nothing to hide from them.   
She gasped as an image appeared below it. "Xizor," she hissed.  
"Greetings. I trust that you could forget me, dearest one. To answer all of your questions, yes, your brother is alive at the moment. Fairly unharmed, at least to my standards," the recording of Xizor said.  
"That doesn't mean very much," Han said to no one in particular.  
The recording continued. "However, there could be much damage done, if you do not find him within twenty-five standard minutes. I have hidden three or more bombs somewhere within a two and a half mile radius of where this message is being played. They are set to go off twenty-four minutes from now. Your brother is near one of them. Near enough to be killed. Your new sister-in-law, however, is staying with me at the moment. But I may decide to put her with your brother, or next to a different bomb. Who knows? The possiblities are endless.  
"You may organize a search party of no more than ten people, with no means of transport other than by foot. I am watching, and if I count more than ten, or if there are vehicles involved, I will detonate the bombs, killing your brother and severely damaging the artifacts of this planet. You have twenty minutes, dearest one. I suggest you use them wisely, or your brother will die at your hands, not mine."  
Then the message ended and the droid popped, destroying it's self in a blinding flash, body casing, components, message, and all.  
Leia could hardly breath. She couldn't stop staring at the spot where the droid had been. "Han," she finally managed to say, "Find Kyp, Streen, Tionne, and Kirana Ti. Tell them what's going on. Get Lando, Chewie, and King too. We've got to move. I'll start looking with Mara. There's no time to waste."  
She heard Han's acknowledgement and felt the slight breeze as he left. "Mara," Leia said. "Where do you think that we could be in just under twenty minutes?"  
Mara's forehead creased as she thought. "The Temple of the Woolamander, Temple Atun, and Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster. Other than that," she said, "It's forest."  
"Hmm. Three choices," Leia said, thinking hard. "He won't be in the forest, at least I don't think so. Let's try Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster. Xizor would be too lazy to drag Luke all the way to the top of Temple Atun. Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster sounds like my best guess. What about you?"  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Mara said. "In which case, we'd better get moving. It'll take us a while to get there."  
Free of the dresses they had worn during the wedding, they made fairly good time. The Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster loomed before them, it's open gardens ouside beckoning them closer.  
"There's something here," Leia said softly. "It feels strange."  
"I agree," Mara said, looking around, her blaster in one hand, her lightsaber in the other. "Just what Xizor would want, right?"  
Leia nodded, and moved around the Temple. Something metal caught her eye. "Mara," she said, "Is that what I think it is?"  
"Yeah, I think so. Move carefully, Leia. We don't know if something will trigger it or not."  
"Nothing will," Leia shouted over her shoulder. "Xizor wants me alive. Just cover my back, okay?"  
She heard Mara's footsteps behind her, and Leia knelt in front of the bomb. "Mara!" she called, "Do you have any idea of how to defuse this?"  
"No, not really."  
"Well then we're in for quite a ride. We have three minutes to defuse this, or we're blown to kingdom-come," Leia said.  
Frantically, they worked on defusing the bomb. It took them a minute to pry it open, and to get at the insides. Another to asess how to defuse it, and warn each other about guards. The last minute they had was ticking down rapidly.  
Leia looked at the wires in her hand. Her mind had suddenly blanked, frozen from the strain of it all. She flew through a Jedi calming excersize, and her focus sharpened. She crossed the wires, blue over white, red over yellow. With a combat knife she cut two, and Mara did the others. "No guts," she muttered, "No glory."  
Leia stripped the wires, and crossed them at the same time Mara did. Holding her breath, Leia watched the diodes.  
Then, they stopped with four seconds to go.  
Exhaling a shuddery sigh of relief, she stood, her heart still pouding in her ears. "Leia," Mara whispered, "Look."  
Leia looked in the direction that Mara was pointing. She saw the rocks around the Temple that had fallen when Luke had battle here with Brakiss, the tiny plants that had dared to return. Then she saw what Mara had been pointing at. Blood.  
Forgoing caution, Leia ran forward, hearing Mara right behind her. "Luke!" she called, not knowing if he could hear her or not.  
She ran to his motionless form, kneeling down in front of him. "What happened to him?" Mara asked, crouching down next to Leia.  
His ceremonial robe was shredded, the blue shirt and pants no longer blue but stained deep purple from his blood. "I don't know," Leia said.   
She stretched out with the Force, which surprisingly was still there, and tried to find him. She found the buzz of his unconscious mind, the lightness of his spirit. "He's still there, and as far as I can tell okay," she said.  
Mara pulled his head into her lap. "Go find Han, Leia. Get the rest of the students here, especially Cilghal."  
Leia was about to object, but Mara interrupted her. "Go, Leia! I'll stay with him."  
Leia got up and ran.  
  
Mara watched Leia run back into the forest. Hopefully, she would get back in time so that nothing would happen to Luke.   
In the distance, Mara heard an explosion.   
One of the bombs had gone off. She didn't feel anyone in the shockwave, so she was assuming that no one had died. But there was pain, so someone had been caught in the blast.  
She pulled Luke up, leaning his head against her. She had never seen him beaten this badly before. It worried her. Mara pushed his sandy brown hair out of his face. "You'd better pull through this," she said softly. "If not for Callista, then for me."  
Luke did not respond. Not that Mara had expected him to.   
She ran her finger along the edge of his face. I owe so much to you, she thought, We would have been great together, you and I, Luke. Why couldn't you see that?  
Mara jerked her head up when she heard a sound. Leia had been gone for no more than five minutes, and this was in the wrong place. Her blaster was just out of her reach, and her lightsaber was on her belt. She froze as she felt the barrell of a blaster shoved hard against the base of her skull. "Don't move," someone said.  
Through the Force, she found the person behind her. Whoever he was, he was trained, and focused deeply on his job. "Mara Jade," someone said behind her, "It's nice to see you in person finally."  
A tall green man stepped into her view. "Xizor," she growled.   
He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Yanne," he called. "Take Skywalker. You may neutralize the drug in his system now. I want him to be awake by the time they get here."  
A small man stepped forward. Mara saw that he was carrying an infuser. "Don't worry, my lord, the drug merely keeps him immoblized and unable to manipulate what he calls the Force. It doesn't truly push him into unconsciousness," the man said.  
"Leave Luke alone!" Mara yelled.  
The blaster was jammed into the back of her head again. "Let the dear doctor do his job, Jade, or I'll fix you as well," Xizor hissed. "Move her into the transport. We'll take her with us."  
There were more than two guards behind her, for two grasped her arms and locked them behind her back, while a third took her lightsaber from her belt and threw it. The blaster against her head had never moved. Reaching through the Force, she called, Leia!! Hurry, tell Wedge that a transport will be in orbit soon. It's Xizor. He's got me and Luke, and I can't do a thing about it.   
Yanne slapped the infuser against Luke's neck and pressed the button. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then Luke came to with a sudden cry.  
"Luke!" Mara called, but the guards stopped her from moving forward.  
"Take him," Xizor ordered.  
Two guards snapped wrist cuffs on Luke and then pulled him to his feet. Mara noticed that he was favoring his right leg. "Don't you have any decency, Xizor?" Luke said, "Any at all? Mara doesn't deserve this. Let her go."  
"Skywalker, I'm appalled that you would even think such a thing. I always extend my utmost courtesy to a lady," Xizor said.  
"Like you did with Leia?" Luke said, his voice hard.  
"Of course," Xizor said.  
Mara knew what had happened to Leia. "Touch me and I'll kill you, Xizor," Mara snapped, trying to strain away from her guards.  
She heard the whine of a repulsorlift, and a skid came up. "Load them into the back," Xizor said, "We don't have much time."  
The guards shoved Mara and Luke forward, but they resisted every step of the way. Mara knew that every second was a better chance for Leia and Han to get here. Finally, one of the guards picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He held her legs so that she wouldn't be able to kick him. "I'm gettin' awful tired of your squirming, Jade. Now stop before I have to hurt you," he said.  
"Right," Mara said under her breath.  
Then she heard a hit, loud and hard. Through the Force, she felt Luke's pain, but he did not cry out. "Let me down!" she demanded, fighting to free herself.  
She was shoved into the back of the skid and Luke in next to her. The door shut with a clang, and it went dark all around her. Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see a thing. In the tight confines of the skid, she could feel Luke next to her. His muscles were taught, but she could no longer feel him through the Force. In fact, she couldn't feel the Force at all.  
"Is it the ysalamiri?" she asked.  
"Yes," Luke said. "Thank you for trying to help me back there."  
Mara smiled softly. "It was the least I could do, after what you did for me a couple of months ago with the pirates. How did you get away from them, anyway?"  
She heard his second of soft laughter. "I tricked them. They couldn't tell that it was me anymore," he said.  
The engine of the skid roared, making the entire chamber vibrate.   
"What happened to you?" Mara asked, remembering the cuts she had seen on him.  
"Xizor thought that it would be funny if he pitted me against two packs of battle neks. . ."  
"Battle neks!" Mara exclaimed.  
"Then he started dropping the roof on me. Something fell on my leg. I can't move it, not without causing a whole lot of pain, which is the last thing I need right now."  
"I thought you were leaning hard on one leg," Mara said. "Where's Callista?"  
"I don't know," Luke said. "She may still be wherever we were, but I'm not sure. For all I know she could be here."  
Mara could feel the vibrations of the skid. Judging by touch, it seemed as if they were going fairly fast, and over rough ground. But that was just an estimate. "Do you have any idea of where we're going?" she asked, hopeful for an answer.  
"No," Luke said. "I don't even know how long it would take us to get there."  
Mara thought furiously. "It can't be far," she said, "You were only gone for four hours."  
"I wouldn't know," Luke said.  
Mara stayed silent. She savored the senation of being this close to Luke, and not having to be embarrassed by it. She had no choice.   
A question jumped into her mind. "Was it this bad last time?" she asked.  
"You know about that?" Luke asked her softly, surprised.  
"Yeah, Leia told me," Mara answered. "But still, was it this bad?"  
"It depends on how you look at it," Luke said. "Last time was physically harder to cope with, and more taxing than it has been so far. But I had King to help me then, then later Leia, Han and the kids. This time might be worse, because Xizor seems far more diabolical than ever. It this is just a trap for Leia, it's far more elaborate that I'd realized."  
"I don't think it is," Mara said. "Xizor would have had a shot at Leia in a few more seconds, and before we'd even found you. It was just me and her."  
Mara didn't hear a reply, if he made one. "Luke," she said.  
"Hmm?"  
"How are we going to get out of this?"  
"I don't know," he replied, "but we'd better think of something fast."  
  
***  
  
Callista found herself helpless, for the first time in her life. The Force was not here, and she was locked in a bare metal cell with no possible way of escape. She had torn her dress to allow more movement should the need come, but that was just it. There was no where to move. There was not enough room in the cell for her to lay down flat, and the sides were too slick to climb, even chimney style. The ceiling was just out of reach, but she couldn't jump because of the clamp around her ankle.  
Sighing again, she leaned against the cold wall. She could hear the guards outside, talking and laughing like drunks. Callista could just make out the hum of machinery, the opening of a blast door. That was the critical flaw in Xizor's design of the place. The prison cells were right next to the docking bay. If she could find a way out, she could steal one of the ships, and get back to Yavin. But it would be impossible, seeing her circumstances and actual chances of getting there.  
Standing, she yelled again, "Let me out!" and pounded her fist against the wall.  
If the guards had heard her, they gave no indication of it.  
Nearly five minutes later, she heard a version of her own cry. "Let me down, damn it, or I'll kick you so hard you'll never be able to have children again!"  
Callista felt her jaw drop. That was Mara. "Mara?!" she yelled, pounding again on the door, "Mara!"  
The guards had stopped talking.  
"Callista?!" she heard, and tears came to her eyes.  
Luke was okay, and he was somewhere near. "Luke!" she yelled.  
The door to her cell opened and she stepped back involuntarily. One of the guards stood there. "Now you be real quiet, chere," he said, his voice think with accent, "Or I ask de boss man what I have to do wid you. Comprende, non?"  
Callista held her ground, but did not speak.  
"Good," the guard said.  
Then he held his hand up to his ear, and his brows knitted together. "I got orders to take you down to de boss man. Now, you either come real quiet like, or I get to blast ya before we move to where we's supposed to be. Now hold out your hands, chere, or I do dis de hard way."  
Callista hesitated a moment then held her hands out in front of her. She needed to conserve all the strength she had. She could not afford to be stunned, if that was what he had meant.  
He locked a pair of wrist binders around them, and pressed a button on the outside of the door. The clamp around her ankle released her, and she was free to move. But his partner's blaster was in her face before she could twitch. "Now, out," he said.  
She moved out and followed the first guard, who was far out of her reach, but never-the-less protected. With the gun in her back and her wrists bound in front of her, there was nothing she could do. They went into a large room, with a giant pool inside of it. There was no way of telling how deep it was. Sheesh, she thought, When Xizor constructs something, he sure doesn't leave anything out. This must have cost a fortune.  
Callista saw Luke and Mara on the far side of the room. Luke saw her and called, "Callista!" that the same time Xizor began to speak.   
"Welcome again dear one," he said, his robes swirling around him as he turned. "Place her and Jade in the cage over there," he told his guards, "Skywalker will stay here."  
"What's the point of this, Xizor," Mara yelled as the guards shoved her, "You act as if you expect them to find us. Do you?"  
Callista saw Xizor's face harden as the guards pulled her. "Simpleton," he muttered. "Of course I expect them to be here. I left them a 'dropped clue', and they should be here any moment. My guards will alert me when they arrive, and they will just happen to find their way in here. From here, no one will leave, except those I allow. And if they choose not to, well, that's the fate they ask for."  
Callista's rage bubbled inside her. "You're a madman, Xizor!" she yelled. "Do you really expect them to be so stupid as to walk into the leash that you hold out for them? They'll be able to see right through your plan, and they'll make sure that the galaxy will never hear of you again."  
If it was possible, Xizor's face got harder, colder than it had been. "Don't worry, I assure you that I am quite safe here."  
The guards shoved her into an old-fashoned barred cage, and locked the door behind her. She nearly fell over Mara, who was already there.  
"My Lord!" she heard someone shouting, "They have arrived! They are already inside the base!"  
For a split second, Callista thought that she saw panic flicker across Xizor's face. "Hmm. They're better than I thought," he said. "Prepare Skywalker. Quickly!"  
As the guards pushed Luke forward, Callista could just begin to hear the not so distant sounds of blaster fire and the hum of lightsabers.  
A chain unfurled itself as Xizor pressed a button. The guards grasped the chain, and wrapped it around Luke, pinning his arms to his sides. Then they undid his hands. Luke looked at Callista in confusion, but Callista had no answer to give him.   
They fastened the chain, making sure that Luke could not reach it. The guards looked at Xizor awaiting their next orders. He nodded and they moved away. Callista feared what would happen, but she did not know.  
Xizor pressed another button, and Callista jumped slightly as Luke was pulled up and out, with a terrifying speed. When he stopped moving, he wound up over the center of the pool. Callista was right then. Xizor would take care of Luke at the same time he took care of whoever came running through the door.  
She just hoped that it was not in the way she was thinking.   
  
  
Chapter Thirty-Three  
  
Mara saw Leia and Han run in at the same moment Xizor walked up to her and Callista. "Leia!" Mara yelled, "Don't it's a trap!"  
But no one could hear her over the richochets of blaster fire.   
Soon, the room was no longer filled with just Leia and Han. Streen, Kyp Durron, Teneniel Djo, Prince Isolder and ten others that Mara could barely recognize were also there. Mara was stunned. Some of the most powerful people in the galaxy were in this room. Isolder and Teneniel Djo were the rulers of the Hapes Consortum, Kyp was the most powerful Jedi that Luke had trained. Luke was here but unable to fight, Callista, and even Karrde was here, but he was just coming in through the door. If Xizor really wanted to gain the upper hand on the galaxy, he could do it, just by holding this room hostage.  
"Attention!" Xizor yelled, and the fire stopped, but that was mainly because there were no guards left to fire at, "I will let you leave, so long as three of you stay. Dearest one, you and two others will stay."  
Mara could see the anger on Leia's face. "I am not your 'dearest one', Xizor. You've got to realize that by now. I despise you, and everything you stand for," she said.  
Mara saw that Leia had her blaster and her lightsaber. She motioned to Leia to throw her the lightsaber. In that instant, Han, Isolder, and Karrde fired at Xizor, giving Leia room to throw.   
Leia's aim was true, and Mara caught the lightsaber. Igniting it, she cut off Callista's binders and then her own. Then the lock to the cage was destroyed as she sliced through it. Callista went charging after Xizor, and Mara was about to when she saw Xizor hit a button.   
Suspended above the water, Luke fell.  
"No!" Callista yelled, but she was already engaged in a fight between guards. Mara ran, forgetting any caution that would slow her down. She saw the chain that had suspened him going down further, when suddenly it stoped with a jerk. Two guards who had gone unnoticed stood infront of her, and she cut them down.   
Throwing down Leia's lightsaber, she dived into the water, going straight for where she thought Luke would be. But Mara couldn't find him. Frantically, she searched, her breath burning in her lungs.   
Finally she found him, below and beside her. Mara dived down, kicking with her strong legs. He struggled vainly to free himself. She stopped in front of him, trying to find a way to free him from the chain. Mara's hands scrabbled for purchase, but the chain was wound too tightly around Luke for her to get even a finger through.   
Her body was screaming for air. With her last breath, she grabbed Luke's face and breathed her remaining air into him. Then she headed to the surface, kicking with all her strength.   
Just when she thought she wouldn't make it, her head broke the surface. Mara sucked in air, but did not stop moving. At the edge, she grabbed Leia's lightsaber. Hoping that they would work underwater, she filled her lungs until she thought they would burst and dived back under.   
She swam back to Luke, and breathed more air into him. Igniting the lightsaber, she moved behind him. It's blade caused the water to bubble madly around it, but at least it worked. Careful not to cut Luke, Mara traced the tip of the blade over the chains. They broke, and Mara shut down the lightsaber and fastened it to her belt. Quickly she grabbed Luke's arm and pulled him towards the surface.   
When they were halfway up, Mara heard four splashes of people diving into the water from the edge.   
Mara realized that it was probably her friends, looking for them. When she had gone up, no one had seen her. It would have seemed as if she and Luke had been under the water for several minutes. Mara's head broke the surface, and she threw her hair back and gasped for air. She heard Luke cough a few times next to her, and the shouts of her name. Isolder, Kyp, Karrde, and Streen were swimming towards them. Mara pulled Luke along, but they arrived first. Kyp and Streen grabbed her arms, throwing them over their shoulders. Karrde and Isolder did the same with Luke, and they pulled them to the edge.   
When they had yanked her and Luke out, Mara allowed herself to see what was going on. Xizor was in a corner, away from all of his precious buttons. With people all around him and nowhere for him to go, he looked subdued.  
Karrde came over to her. "Are you all right?" he asked, his face worried.  
"Yeah," Mara said, "I wasn't under as long as you probably thought I was. What about Luke? He was under a lot longer than me."  
As Mara took the hand Karrde offered, he said, "He'll be okay. He's got more will to live than anyone I've seen in years."  
When Mara got to her feet, Leia and Callista had broken away from the group and came over. Callista ran to Luke, who was amazingly on his feet, albeit his arm thrown over Isolder's shoulders. She hugged him, despite the fact that he was soaking. Mara caught a glimmer on Callista's face as Leia came up to her.   
"Thank you so much, Mara," Leia said. "You're okay?"  
Mara nodded. "What's up with tall, green, and ugly?" she asked.  
"We've got him on the ropes. The NRI should be here any minute to round him up, and throw him in the slammer. I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to kill him, at least not yet," Leia said. "I think he should sweat it out for ten or twelve years first, don't you think? After all he's done, not just to Luke, he certainly deserves it."  
Mara wrung her red hair over her shoulder before she answered. "I agree with you there," she said, "Wholeheartedly."  
"I'd better check on Luke," Leia said. "Thanks for going in after him Mara."  
"It's nothing," Mara said, embarrassed.  
For the minute, she was glad to be alone. Karrde had gone when Leia came up, and Leia had went to see Luke. She looked over in Xizor's direction. He was definetly panicking now. Not only was he subdued, but the NRI was just coming through the door. Leia yelled a few orders at them, and they took hold of Xizor. Mara let herself sigh.  
It was finally over.  
  
  
Epilogue  
  
The next few weeks were relatively peaceful. With Xizor locked away, the Jedi Academy was once again a place of learning, rather than disaster.   
Callista stood next to Luke, both locked in a casual embrace. His arm shielded her from the bite of the evening wind, and she felt safe for the first time in many weeks. She rested her head on his strong shoulder.  
For her, it had been a long road. Ripped from her own life by the call of the Jedi, she had, in a sense, died aboard the Eye of Palpatine. But when Luke came aboard that day, something in her had reawakened: her humanity. Now, almost ten years later, she was finally with the man she loved, in the only way she had ever wanted, body and soul.  
It had also been long for Luke. And that, too, stregnthed their bond.  
Yavin had already dipped below it's moon's horizon, leaving the sky streaked with violet, blue and a strand of gold. The jungle's creatures produced a lazy, sleepy sound, while it's moist, sweet scent wafted up to her.  
Here, more than anywhere in years, was home.  
Callista glanced up at Luke, seeing his profile against a starry twilight sky. He looked back at her. Callista smiled to herself, because he always knew when she was looking, and vice versa. "What are you thinking?" she asked.  
"Wondering how I'll be as a father."  
She smiled again. "Hey," she said, "you've got nine months to prepare, Luke. And the way you act with Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin, I'm sure you'll be one of the best."  
He pulled her close. "Well, I'll be there, thanks to you."  
"You'd better be," she said, and kissed him.  
It was a slow kiss, that penetrated every fiber of her being, making her whole.  
  
  
-end-  
  
Okay folks! Glad you made it through! Any questions or comments should be sent to: Maab63@AOL.com. Please put the title (or something) in the Subject box, or I won't read it. And please!! NO FLAMING!!!   
More is on the way! Book 2 should be here soon!  
Excelsior!  



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